Pomp and Circumstance
by Dr. Holland
Summary: One year after 5x24, Nate, Dan, and Blair are graduating from college. Serena and Chuck are planning a celebration to remember. Eric, Jenny, and Vanessa are back. Mayhem ensues. Chair centric, post-Dair fic. AU after 5x19, with a few late S5 spoilers. Rated T/M.
1. Morning

**POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE**

**Summary:** One year after the events of Season 5, it's college graduation day for Nate Archibald, Dan Humphrey... and Blair Waldorf Bass. Serena and Chuck are planning a celebration to remember. Everyone's back in town, including Eric, Jenny, and Vanessa. Even in adulthood, the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite are still scandalous! A Chair centric, post-Dair fic. (AU after 5x19, with a few late season 5 spoilers.)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in the Gossip Girl universe, not even (sadly) Chuck or Nate. Major props to Cecily von Ziegesar, the CW, the producers, actors, and crew, and everyone involved with bringing these amazing characters to life.

**Chapter 1 - Morning**

_May 2013._

**_Serena_**

Serena van der Woodsen cracked open her eyes, the first rays of morning sunshine falling on her face and brightly illuminating her golden hair. It was one of those one-martini-too-many mornings, but she'd seen far worse. Sitting up, she placed a hand to her head...

...then smiled, remembering. She rolled to one side, looking at the dent in the pillow next to her, hand running over the warmth in the sheets. Although she knew he was gone, it had been a night to remember.

There wasn't time to think about him, though. She had a busy day planned and unlike a certain brunette who was her best friend in spite of everything they'd been through over the years, plotting didn't come naturally to her.

However, she had an ally for whom it did.

Blinking long lashes over bright blue eyes, Serena yawned once, then reached for her cell phone. At first, she thought she'd send a text message, but it was still early. Her brothers could both sleep through a hurricane, and she needed to check over the details of their plans. Holding down the 4 on her phone, she speed dialed the elder of the two.

For a moment, she thought that the phone would go straight to voice mail, even though she _told _him she'd be calling. Serena rolled her eyes at those two. As much as she loved them both, they'd ratcheted up their level of disgusting to _intolerable _over the past twelve months. But they'd been that way ever since she caught them together junior year... unable to keep their hands off each other. Serena didn't think she'd ever get what her BFF and sister-in-law saw in her stepbrother. But, it was apparent that Blair Waldorf would never get enough of Chuck Bass.

Just as she was preparing to leave him a message (and a piece of her mind), the rumble of a deep, slow voice filled Serena's ear.

"...And to what do I owe the pleasure of this phone call, sis?"

"You know why, Chuck. Don't be annoying. Not on today of all days. We've got too much to do."

"We? I seem to recall that this was all your idea."

"Which you agreed to help me with, Chuck! It has to be perfect, you know how critical of everything she is!"

"Yes, I know," he said, and Serena detected amusement in his voice. "Well, Gramercy Tavern is catering, the band's just arrived at the Palace..."

"Chuck! Stop, you'll ruin it! Is Blair right there?"

The exasperation was evident in his voice. "Of course not. She's still asleep upstairs... why do you think it took me this long to answer your call? Now, keep up, amateur. You've already said event planning's not your forte."

"Chuck, it has to be perfect," Serena repeated. "You only get one shot at something like this."

"If you're done..."

"No, I'm not. I need to know where everyone is. They were supposed to check in with you, but you haven't called or texted me..."

"All because you partied your ass off at NYU's graduation celebration last night."

Serena glared at the cell phone. "What? Did you or Bart have me followed?"

"It was a Gossip Girl blast, irrelevant girl. Nice work. I thought you said body shots were so sophomore year at Constance."

"When you have a body like his..."

Chuck snorted. "You _disgust_ me. Anyway, Eric's here with us, comfortably ensconced in his usual guest room with his paramour of the moment. Just consider that. While you were out getting hammered, we were having a proper family evening with your little brother and his new friend."

"Who is likely scarred for life after getting no sleep," muttered Serena.

"We've soundproofed since that last time, sis," Chuck said smoothly. "But we sincerely hope that the sounds of our passion inspired you to improve your own..."

"Ewww, I do NOT need to hear this! Anyway, so that's Eric. Did Jenny actually make it into town?"

Pause. "Lily says she's at their penthouse."

"I just hope she doesn't make any trouble. Look, I tried to convince him not to invite her, and it caused a huge thing... when he and I are finally trying to..."

"No need to explain," said Chuck smoothly. "Water under the bridge. I'm sure that Humphrey would want his sister to be present during such a momentous occasion." Before she could ask, Chuck continued, "Blair feels the same."

"How about Nate?" Her voice softened, became more hesitant. "Is he OK?"

"Yes, after the dramatics of last month's gala, I think that he is."

Serena laughed uncomfortably. "I thought that was the real 'water under the bridge.' But Lola's still furious, and Dan won't talk about it... or to her."

"Well, she's been... _crashing, _should we say... at the Empire penthouse. I suppose that Brooklyn looks different after two years in Spain."

Serena took a deep breath.

"Something happened in Spain, Chuck... when Dan went to Rome last year, he..."

Now it was Chuck's turn to yawn. "Sis, must we really? As fascinating as you van der Woodsen women seem to find all things DUMBO, I'm bored and need to wake my wife up properly..."

"_Yuck."_

"Get your mind out of the gutter. Although, you've been slumming it for so long, I'm sure you don't know the difference."

A knock sounded on Serena's door. The doorknob turned...

...and Nate emerged into the room. Blue eyes locked.

"Can I come in?"

"I have to go," she told Chuck. "Bye... and don't forget what you're supposed to do!"

The dial tone sounded in his ear just before Dorota appeared at the open door of his study, signaling that breakfast was ready.

"I never do."

**_Dan_**

"So. Is it weird?" asked Jenny.

Daniel Humphrey considered his sister. Her hair was _really _short, still platinum blonde, and she was still all limbs. But instead of mischief in her starry eyes, Dan saw tranquility. Peace.

Something that he hadn't felt in a long time.

"What?" he asked, picking up the mimosa after eyeing the usual pile of waffles warily.

"Everything. Being done with college. You and Serena. Vanessa showing up out of the blue. Dad, Lily... and _Bart. _The whole thing with Blair that I apparently missed. Your second book being optioned by Paramount. _Everything."_

Dan took a sip. It was a good hair of the dog after last night's activities. But too sweet, and too pulpy. Why did rich people always have to have their orange juice freshly squeezed?

Maybe he'd have a Bloody Mary next.

"No more weird than everything that's happened since your freshman year at Constance. Remember 2006? Back when Mom and Dad were still together, and we all lived in Brooklyn, and other than me being invisible at St. Jude's, we were just another average middle class family?"

"With the rock star dad? And the loft that costs more than most people's lifetime earnings? Yeah, Dan, we were really just average middle class!"

"Yeah... forget that part. Dad was a one-hit wonder, and he and Mom bought before the neighborhood gentrified and got the ironic hipster coffee houses on every corner. Anyway, you know what I mean. Do you ever think about the way it used to be? Before... all this?"

Jenny shrugged. "Barely. It's like you've said. A lot has happened since then."

"A lot has. And the main thing that's happened, Jen, is that we're now _part _of this world, but we'll never really be _from _it. Our kids will be, but we're always going to feel a little out of place."

"You?" Jenny quirked an eyebrow. "The ultimate insider? Let's see, you've had two New York Times bestsellers at the ripe old age of twenty-two. You've dated an It Girl, caused a teacher to lose her job because of you, broke the heart of the biggest Hollywood starlet under 25, crossed the line with your best friend, _and _a real life princess left her kingdom to be with you. I don't think that the man who's on the cover of this month's _Poets and Writers _magazine is 'out of place.'"

"Yeah, but the difference is, Jen, you and I are still trying to find ourselves. Look at others we graduated with..."

"That _you _graduated with," Jenny reminded him, no bitterness apparent in her voice.

"Yeah, whatever. My point is that some people don't have to worry about their next step in life. Like, right now, the writing thing is good, but lately, I've been thinking about going in some different directions. But someone like Chuck, well, his future's been planned since he was in diapers."

"Dan, forget Chuck," admonished Jenny. "I don't know why you're even bringing him up. Or are you still upset about everything with Blair?"

The siblings sat in silence, both remembering when Dan arrived in London on the way to his stint in Rome. Jenny thought it was the first time when she felt like the older, more mature sibling, comforting her brother, who was clearly not okay with the way things went.

"Nothing good ever happens when we Humphreys swim with the Basses, that's for sure," Jenny said. "I know I can't avoid them this evening, but I don't plan to stay long. I need to get back to London."

Dan frowned. "Are you still angry over everything they did to you?"

"Not at all. Chuck has apologized several times for what happened at the beginning of my freshman year, I paid him back a few weeks later at the masquerade, and then what happened at the end of my junior year, was my own choice."

"Choice? Jen, you were 16... he was almost..."

"We were 17 and 18, Dan. I'd had my birthday already, but he hadn't had his."

"You were upset. He took advantage of you."

"I was upset because of the way he treated me, disregarded me, and went right back to Blair while I was in his bedroom. I wish... well, it's not who I wanted my first time to be with, but he didn't rape me. We were both drunk and crazy."

"Yeah, but then my ex banished you so you couldn't even finish school. She had no right..."

"Dan, you've got to let go of the past. Without Chuck and Blair and everything they did to me, I would have likely gone to Parsons. But Central St. Martins has been the best thing for my career."

Her brother beamed with pride. "So are you going to take Gaultier's offer, or Dior's? My little sister, a Paris designer..."

"I'm going to finish school," said Jenny, cutting into a waffle. "Next year will be time enough to consider the offers. I've missed New York. Who knows where I'll set up shop? Besides..." she slanted a grin his direction, "I'm proud that you're starting to get to know your designers! Very good, big brother!"

"Funny. Guess my time with Blair was good for something, at least."

The siblings' cozy chat was interrupted by Lily and Rufus, coming down for breakfast.

"Well," said Rufus, beaming at Dan as he leaned down to kiss his daughter's cheek, "how's my almost-graduate doing this morning?"

"I don't know, Dad," said Dan. "It's like, even with everything that's happened, today's the first day of my adult life, in a strange way." He looked at Lily. "So why do you want everyone to come to this thing tonight, again?"

"Oh, Dan," said Lily, in that sighing way that his father always seemed to find endearing (but that Dan was impatient with... it seemed so _affected, _in his opinion), "it's our chance to celebrate you and your friends. College graduation is a big deal. Besides, we've got all kinds of influential guests coming, the kind that can expand your literary career even further..."

As Lily went on and on, his mind started drifting. He thought of Serena, and the good times they'd shared the night before.

He thought of Vanessa.

He thought of Blair.

Then, he thought of Serena again.

Perhaps someday, he'd figure out what, and who, he truly wanted.

**_Blair_**

Blair Waldorf Bass turned the taps of her shower off, enjoying the cool air on her glowing skin. Usually soft porcelain, it was temporarily rosy from the warm water. Normally, she preferred to enjoy a long morning bath (with either macarons or Chuck... preferably Chuck, but with her husband's schedule, the delicate French pastries sometimes had to do). But, a powerful woman only graduated from college once in her life... so, a powerful woman needed to look absolutely _stunning _when she did.

Stepping out of the shower and swathing herself in one of the luxurious microfiber bath sheets, Blair caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. Normally, she'd find fault with something, even now, even after sleeping with someone who told her she was perfection day in and day out. She glanced warily at the toilet...

Then a small, smug smile tugged the corners of her red lips upward. No, she didn't feel _that_ old urge again.

She thought about the delicious meal she'd enjoyed last night with her husband, her brother-in-law, and his new partner Alec. Marinated roast duck with shaved black truffles, dressed with shallots, white asparagus, leek, carrots, and bok choy. It was a bit unusual, but the new chef, Xavier, had come very highly recommended from her father and Roman. Blair enjoyed every bit of the meal, and enjoyed a tiny sliver of the chocolate ganache afterward, but refused to have anything to drink. Still, the good times, the laughter, and the snark had lasted half the night, until Eric and Alec slipped into the guest room, and Chuck pulled Blair into the butler's pantry when she went to put the ganache back.

(She should have _known _better than to clear away their desserts and tapas! Dorota had gone home, but she would have done it in the morning. That motherchucker got her _every_ _time_ _she did it! _Blair wondered if Dorota would ever notice that the shelf had been...)

Starting to reminisce, Blair stopped herself. She _had_ to get ready. No sense in being late to one's own graduation, was there?

They'd just finished breakfast. Blair enjoyed meals now. The man of the house, holed up in his study on a Skype call, was a huge reason for that. So was therapy. Eat small portions, she had learned over the years. Enjoy the tastes, melting on your tongue. Enjoy the company, without putting on your mask, without panicking if everything wasn't perfect...

Perfection was an illusion.

Well, it was an illusion in all areas of her life except for one.

Him.

Now dry, Blair exchanged her bath sheet for a deep purple silk robe... _his_ robe. It still smelled of him, his scent, his heat, his cologne, arousing her, everything about him driving her crazy.

She was still learning to accept the depths of her love for him. Even nearly a year after their final reunion, the one they both knew would be forever, Blair was shaken to her core by what happened to her every time Chuck Bass was around. It was still _the_ biggest shock of her life, even nearly six years after that night in the back of his limo. She'd spent the next four and a half years frightened of him, of _them, _even when they were together... as frightened as he had been.

They were far too young, far too broken, and far too dangerous for the kind of love they'd stumbled upon. They weren't ready. And it had nearly killed them both.

Yet in the end, it had saved them.

Blair knew that Chuck felt the same as she did. That there were hours, entire days even, when everything else in their lives, including his corporation and her legal career ambitions, were just vague, blurry time in between their shared world, with room enough only for two. They were both selfish like that, greedy for each other's company, greedy for each other's bodies, and all the time in the world alone together. But Blair knew that soon, there would be another very welcome, very loved addition to their private world. Someone they'd always let in, because they were him and her, together.

Everyone would be _shocked_. Shocked, just as everyone had been when, after only five weeks back together, after two eleventh hour calls to Serena and Nate, they went to City Hall, and married without fanfare, pomp, or circumstance one bright June afternoon. (They both wore white: Chuck in a tailored Dolce & Gabbana suit; Blair, in a Dior original.)

They did more than honeymoon. They disappeared for the entire summer after that, Chuck handing over the reins to Bass Industries to his father, Blair arranging with her professors to take her summer semester online so that she could graduate on time. They traveled here, there, and everywhere on a whim, Chuck having sworn to make love to his new wife on every continent (and in the case of the Americas, every _country _on said continent). Blair had so many memories of steamy nights, glorious sunrises, morning strolls, and making hot afternoons even hotter as they fucked each other's brains out... sometimes making it back to whatever five-star hotel suite they'd booked... other times, not so much.

There were dinners at the most memorable restaurants all over the world... tasting_, no, devouring _food that wasn't her beloved pumpkin pie for the first time in her life. Sometimes snuggled up next to each other, sometimes, sitting on his lap, sharing a single plate, a single glass, and a single fork.

They shopped... and how! Blair learned that she had to be careful not to let her eyes linger on _anything _too long, because before she could blink, Chuck would buy it for her.

The global press followed their travels eagerly. The fashion heiress, society darling, and disgraced royal who'd left her prince for a pauper. The billionaire, dark knight, ladykiller, and handsome beast who'd been tamed by a world-renowned beauty. They were dark, decadent, oh, so newsworthy, and oh, so gorgeous.

At first, they shied away from the paparazzi, remembering the nightmare that happened the last time they were hounded. Then they got used to them. A thousand of their kisses were immortalized in papers, on the news, on entertainment shows, online.

Then, upon their return to New York, they threw not one, not two, but _three _lavish receptions: a summer outdoor renewal of vows at Bart's home in the Hamptons (which, at the close of the party, he gave to his new daughter-in-law as a wedding gift), a formal society reception in the ballroom of the Palace (with Blair resplendent in an Oscar de la Renta original bridal gown; she'd worn an Eleanor original for the ceremony in the Hamptons), and a smaller, more intimate toast for their same-aged friends at Victrola.

It had been nearly eleven months since that glorious June day. Still, still, every time she saw him, she caught fire... and it seemed as if the heat got more intense over the years, with no sign of cooling. When they were seventeen, a single one of his _touches_ would leave her wet, hot, and ready... by age twenty, it was just a _look_... now that she was twenty-two going on twenty-three, just the very _thought _of Chuck could turn her on. Everything reminded her of him, and the things they did together. And to each other.

Blair knew that their family and friends, when joking about when their honeymoon period would end (there were actually _bets _on it), didn't really mean it. For although their relationship was very physical (to say the least), that wasn't all there was to it... and never had been. Theirs was an unbreakable bond. Everything that had happened in the past had only strengthened it.

She ran her hands over the slight rise of her stomach, thinking about breaking the news of her Yale Law deferral to their nearest and dearest. Children hadn't been something they'd expected so soon in their marriage. Even though they'd been at it like rabbits all year, Blair had been on the Pill for a long time. Of course, there was the stress of her final semester, and the fact that she'd messed up on a couple of her packs around Christmas when they were in France.

Blair blushed a little when she thought about how careless she had been with protection over the years. Far from the most promiscuous girl on the Upper East Side, she'd had a pregnancy scare in high school, had gotten pregnant at age 20, and two years later, at age 22, was nearing the end of her first trimester.

The last time, she had retreated into the movie constantly playing inside her mind. A baby wasn't in the plans she had for her real life princess fantasy, so other than taking prenatal vitamins and visiting the OB/GYN, she hadn't thought much about it. She'd hidden the morning sickness from Louis by saying that her stomach was getting used to the water, the wine (although she drank none), everything. And after the paternity test revealed that it wasn't Chuck's, she'd pretended as if she didn't feel the faint fluttering of the baby's kick. She didn't purchase any couture maternity clothing unless there was an event, choosing to wear shapeless frocks instead. It was a dark time in her life.

This time, she only ignored the very beginning of the pregnancy. All winter, she had been working too hard to pay attention to the initial signs. After having a bit of a gap year because of the princess thing, the Louis thing, and the Dan thing, she'd taken two classes over the summer (Blair would write essays for her political theory course while Chuck kept up with BI's reports, whether they were in Bali, Queensland, or Marrakesh). Then, she took twenty-one credit hours during both the fall and spring semesters.

It would not be said that Blair Waldorf Bass hadn't earned her admission into Yale Law... that the great and worthy institution had only admitted her because she was Chuck Bass' wife. (Some of her fears about that had been alleviated over the past two years, though... her actions back in 2011 and early 2012 had led to her being more notorious and even reviled than her husband at the time! But public opinion was fickle. Blair was, once again, Queen.)

Chuck almost had a heart attack when he thought her bulimia had returned that March. He heard her in their bathroom, one morning, with the water running, and tears running down her face. Once she was done, he handed her a water glass so that she could rinse out her mouth, and when Blair turned to look at him, his eyes were filled with tears, too.

"We will get through this," he told her, voice in that tone he saved just for her. "Together."

"Yes, we will, Bass... since this is all your fault."

"You're strong, you've beat it once, you can beat it ag... wait, how is this my fault, Blair? What did I do this time?"

The panic was evident in his dark hazel eyes. Before he could start beating himself up for being a fuck-up of a husband, Blair managed a slight smile just before she kissed him.

"Chuck, I'm not sick," she breathed. "My bulimia's not back. But yes, since I did hurt myself before, it's best that I get to the doctor today... he'll have to confirm what I suspect, but if it's true, not only am I done hurting myself... I wouldn't hurt our little one for the world."

Chuck's entire face changed. It was almost like seeing the sun, Blair thought, breaking through late on a stormy day. Then he actually _yelled_, which made her laugh. Chuck Bass just didn't _yell. _Then he started kissing her, then kissed her some more, and then...

Well, Blair missed class _that _day.

Their first child would be born in November 2013, right around her birthday and Thanksgiving, in her month, her favorite season, her favorite time of year. They would finally have a family of their own. She and Chuck would give their child everything they'd been denied as kids, not just money and material things, but themselves.

Sometimes, Blair would feel sad, remembering her first baby as her second grew within her. Everyone thought she was over that, because she never talked about it. It was not her way, not the way of a girl raised as an Upper East Side society princess, who was now the widely acknowledged queen of not just an exclusive private school, but all of Manhattan. But she did think of that little baby Grimaldi, her and Louis combined, who would have been both an heir to the throne... and the spoiled stepchild of the _best _stepfather in the world.

Chuck understood, though. They really didn't talk about it much. Blair had told him everything one night after the casino and the rooftop, after they'd reconciled and she was wearing his ring, but before they said to hell with another wedding and raced to City Hall.

Chuck listened without saying much, just holding her and listening to her.

"She should have been yours, Chuck," said Blair.

"She would have been, in every way that mattered," said Chuck. "_She... _Did they tell you it was a girl?"

Blair nodded. "I was nearly six months along. At first they thought maybe she could survive. They tried to save her, but it was too late." Her voice lowered to a whisper. "In my heart, she was my Audrey..."

"_Ours," _he reminded her. "Audrey Grimaldi Bass. And someday, she'll have brothers and sisters. She'll be like our guardian angel, keeping watch over them... and us."

Of all Chuck's gifts, this baby (this one who would live and thrive in a loving home) was the most precious. Far too precious to share! Last year, they'd briefly entertained the idea of keeping their marriage secret, close and precious, until they realized that she was Blair Waldorf (formerly Grimaldi, Princess of Monaco) and he was Chuck Bass. No _way _could they have married without it making Page Six. Not even if they disguised themselves.

But they could keep the news of the child strictly for themselves. No one knew yet, not even their parents.

Blair thought tonight would be a perfect time to tell them.

She just had to convince her husband.

**_Nate_**

Nathaniel Archibald didn't know what drew him to the old Waldorf penthouse, on this of all mornings. Although Eleanor Waldorf Rose muttered off and on about putting it on the market, it had been Serena's in all but name since the day Blair married Chuck. Serena had left things much as they had always been, and Nate knew that it had been a point of comfort for her.

When Chuck was out of town on business, Blair would come spend the night in her old, beloved room. Back when Nate was splitting his time between here and the Empire, he sometimes would run into her, his childhood sweetheart, ex-girlfriend, and lifelong friend. They'd talk about classes, about the Spectator, and about Chuck. And Nate would wonder what made his primary school self fall for the petite brunette instead of the ray of sunshine that was always with her.

What could one say about the motivations of a six year old? Nate was starting to think that his thing for Blair had been birthed by his mother. Vaguely, he remembered Anne's voice: _I think that Blair Waldorf is such a polite little girl, so pretty and sweet and smart. Anyone would be proud to have a daughter like that, and every mother would love for her son to bring home a girl like that. Nothing like that Serena van der Woodsen, whose mother lets her run wild._

Nate, deep down, knew that he'd always preferred Serena. Even though Blair was supposed to be his girlfriend, he most often wandered off with Serena on their playdates when he wasn't with Chuck. When they were teens, they continued to wander off, until that wandering led to their fast and furious coupling on a deserted bar at the Shepherd wedding.

She tasted of too much champagne. She was long limbs and white-hot eyes that wrapped around him. She was the most perfect breasts he'd ever seen, even in the movies. She was hair that turned into molten gold in even the dimmest light.

Serena was everything, and Nate was suddenly in love... and then, she disappeared for a year.

He felt like shit. Hot, guilty shit warmed over, especially every time he was around Blair. She wanted them to take their relationship to the next level. Nate liked Blair well enough, knew she was a beautiful girl, but she would never be sunshine and starlight and supernova... not like a certain wild van der Woodsen who'd gotten under his skin.

It didn't occur to Nate until much later that while he was wandering off with Serena, his girlfriend and his best friend were often left to their own devices. These days, whenever he did think back (which wasn't often, because things had been the way they were for many years, and Nate had few regrets), he figured he was lucky that Blair and Chuck didn't hook up years earlier than they did, given Chuck's reputation.

Once it was BlairandChuck, ChuckandBlair, the way was clear for Nate to be with Serena. But things never clicked for them. The summer after junior year, Serena was so hung up on Dan Humphrey until Nate knew that things were going nowhere fast. Then over the next year and a half, there was Catherine, Vanessa, Jenny, Vanessa again, Blair again (although things didn't work out, she'd always be special to him), and Bree.

Then, finally, he and Serena were a real couple. It was hot and passionate. It was warm and companionable. She was everything that Nate Archibald ever wanted in a girl.

The problem was that Serena was still hung up on Dan.

Now, Nate was an adherent to the guy code. Bros before hos. He didn't want to give up his friendship with Dan, who wasn't Chuck (Chuck would always be his best friend), but who was sometimes easier to understand than an inscrutable Bass. Nate wanted Serena, and knew they were more suited for each other than she'd ever be with Dan. Besides, Serena's mother and Dan's father were _married, _and they shared a half brother. Nate knew that things would work out in the end.

But it didn't. Juliet, Vanessa, and Jenny played their hands, and he'd believed the worst of Serena. When the dust cleared, Serena was dating Ben, and he was dating Raina Thorpe. Then he started seeing Diana. He almost had a fling with Ivy, who he thought was Charlie Rhodes. Then, he started seeing the _real _Charlie Rhodes, Serena's cousin _and _half sister Lola.

God, the Upper East Side could be _nasty _sometimes. Incestuous...

Hey, Nate figured, they all probably came from long lines of inbred blue bloods. Maybe this was how it all happened...

Ew.

For a year, Lola had been Nate's Serena substitute. On the margins of his vision, Nate watched Serena eat her heart out over Dan being with Blair, then actively sabotage them. It backfired. When Blair went back to Chuck (Nate could've told Dan that was inevitable), instead of turning to Serena, Dan ran off to Europe. Lola went back to Florida for the summer. And Nate was once again alone.

It took a while for Serena and Nate to reconnect after that. This time, it was because half of the Non-Judging Breakfast Club was tying the knot. Nate never forgot the call he got in early June last year from Chuck (who'd barely surfaced for air since reconciling with Blair) to come have dinner at the Waldorf penthouse. Serena was already there, and Dorota had laid out quite a spread.

"We're getting married," Blair announced, perched comfortably on Chuck's lap, snuggling closer than close.

"Yes, we know," said Serena, trying not to look nauseous at the PDA. Nate almost laughed at her. She was so funny when it came to them! "Thanksgiving."

"Actually, you don't know, sis," Chuck told her, grinning like an idiot at Blair. (Nate couldn't remember at the time the last time he had seen Chuck smile like that.) "We're getting married day after tomorrow."

"WHAT?" said Serena. "Chuck, Blair, have you lost your minds? There's no way we can put together a wedding in two days..."

"S," said Nate, "I don't think they mean a wedding. You're just going to get married, right?"

"Right," said Chuck, staring into Blair's eyes.

"I've already had the big wedding, and it was a huge mistake," said Blair, still looking at Chuck as if she was afraid he'd disappear if she blinked. "You were right, it should have been us up there. But it wasn't, and I can't change that, and I'm not going to have the New York or international society press comparing things or calling _me _tacky my second time around."

"But Chuck," implored Serena, "don't _you _want a wedding?"

"I do, but we'll have something later. All I want," his voice lowered as he kissed Blair's ear, "is her. She's all I've ever wanted."

"Man, you've gone completely soft," Nate chided. "Blair, what did you do to my boy all those years ago?"

"_Natie,"_ implored Serena. "They're in love."

"S, he's whipped..."

But Blair and Chuck didn't hear a word either of them said. As Nate and Serena bantered, they'd slipped out, leaving their best friends to have at it.

So Nate and Serena were thrown back together, getting everything together for the City Hall civil ceremony. There were blood tests and check ups to be scheduled, there was the matter of the license, there were dresses and suits to buy (because even during a civil ceremony, Chuck and Blair had to look fabulous), and there was the small dinner to arrange afterwards with the parents to break the news to everyone.

It was like old times, only now, the couple among the club was Chuck and Blair. They had a wonderful, whirlwind of a time, plotting and planning so that no one would know, not the press, not Gossip Girl, not their Columbia classmates or former St. Jude's and Constance people, and especially not nosy Upper East Siders.

There were two nights when they dressed up and went out, the first for a fancy dinner at Per Se, the second for drinks at Gimlet (which had earned its license long before), and then out dancing. Since neither Chuck nor Blair wanted bachelor and bachelorette parties, Nate and Serena called up a number of their friends to club hop at the most exclusive spots in the city.

"Look at them!" laughed Serena. "I never thought I'd see Chuck Bass dance! Someone take a picture!"

"Chuck doesn't dance, the way he doesn't do girlfriends... Blair's the exception to every one of his rules!" Nate snapped the picture with his Android. "He's actually not half bad. Neither is she."

"We're better, Natie! Are we going to let those two sticks in the mud show us up?"

Shining blue eyes caught the light, and he was caught up... again.

"Of course not," he said. "Let's go!"

They made their way to the edge of the crowded dance floor, where Chuck and Blair were busily being very un-UES-like, and grinding to the most popular party song of the summer.

"You call that dancing?" said Serena. "That's not dancing!"

"That's having sex with your clothes on," said Nate, egging Serena on.

Chuck looked a bit amused, and a bit exasperated. "Some of us are more efficient than others. Now if you don't mind, I want to dance with my soon to be wife without all this..."

"Shininess fluttering around?" said Blair, resting her perfect mane of chocolate curls on her fiancé's strong shoulder. "I agree. It's headache inducing... totally annoying."

"Boring, boring, boring... Whoo-hoo!" said Serena, kicking up a leg as if she were a Rockette, then shimmying. "C'mon, Nate! Let's get this party started!"

Just before the two blonds headed to the middle of the floor, Chuck shot him a questioning look. Nate leaned forward to reassure him.

"Don't worry, have a good time. I'll take care of her."

And he did. He took care of her on the dance floor, and later, when they arrived back at the penthouse. And when he woke up on the morning of Chuck and Blair's wedding, he was still there with her, watching her sleep in his arms. It had been cloudy all week, but that morning, the sun was back out again.

He went for his morning run to clear his head, to think over things. And then, he came back to find Serena, clad only in her panties and a tiny camisole, dancing around her room to the strains of the Beatles' "Here Comes the Sun."

Nate had laughed. He felt as if he could live forever in her light...

Of course, their best friends noticed, even in the midst of their bliss. On the way to City Hall, Blair said it.

"Something's changed here. You two back on?"

Their looks said it all.

"It fits," Chuck said. "I suppose this is the part where we make a pact to marry our kids off to each other. I'll have my lawyers draw up the papers, and all four of us will sign in blood."

"Yes, and that worked so well for me and Nate, of course," said Blair, small hand cupping his jaw and turning him to face her. "If our mothers had their way, new money would have never had a chance to aspire to a Waldorf!"

"Now, Blair. Nothing _smells_ quite like new money... or..."

He whispered in her ear. Blair didn't even have the decency to blush at what Chuck was saying. Instead, her eyes darkened, and she whispered something back.

"Well, Miss Waldorf-soon-to-be-Mrs. Bass, that can be arranged..."

Serena groaned as they kissed. "You two are going to be gross forever, aren't you?" she said, lifting her head from Nate's shoulder.

"Yes," said Chuck, after Blair let him breathe again.

"It's what we do," said Blair.

They locked lips again. Serena tried to cover her eyes, but Nate didn't let her... because he was kissing her, too.

Things were so perfect between them, Nate reflected as he climbed the stairs. When Chuck whisked Blair off for their honeymoon, Serena and Nate had been together all summer. There were more mornings where they laughed and teased each other and made love. Afternoons when Nate was at school for summer session, and Serena was writing, and they'd text and Tweet and call each other. Evenings when they made dinner for each other, although neither knew how to cook, then eventually give up and go out.

They made it to the Hamptons by July, and enjoyed the beach and each other. There was one memorable weekend when Nate's mother was up at Martha's Vineyard, and they had the house to themselves. Of course, they christened every room, made love on every possible surface, overcome with joy and each other.

Nate thought about the famous Vanderbilt ring, the one that his mother insisted Blair try on many years ago.

He thought it would look perfect on Serena's slender finger.

Maybe at Christmas, he thought. He didn't want to get married right away... he wasn't Chuck, and she wasn't Blair... but they'd be twenty-two, going on twenty-three by then. They could have a long engagement, leading to a very Nate and Serena wedding. Probably an exotic destination, somewhere on the beach.

Of course, summer had to end, and their pasts had to intrude. He hadn't talked to Lola since she'd gone back to Florida with Carol in May... hadn't really hashed things out. He just assumed that things had fizzled.

Everything had been so confusing the spring before with Diana's return, and then Jack Bass, whose visits never led to anything good. But then Bart Bass came back from the dead, shaking up the Upper East Side, all of New York City, and the entire business world with his abrupt return from the federal Witness Protection Program. It was a crazy time, and in the midst of it, there was the Dan thing, the Dan and Blair thing, and then the Dan, Blair and Chuck thing...

"It's too much," Lola had said. "Way too much. This world is too crazy."

Yet at the end of the summer, she'd shown up at Blair and Chuck's garden reception in the Hamptons, wanting to talk. He and Serena had argued after Serena made Lola cry. (She didn't show that side of herself often, but Serena van der Woodsen could be every bit as much of an Upper East Side HBIC as her best friend and sister-in-law.) Then Lola had shown up at the grand society reception at the Palace, once again, wanting to talk. Once again, he and Serena had argued.

"We didn't really get any closure," Nate tried to explain. "She deserves at least that much from me. It's you that I want. Why are you being so insecure?"

"She just wants you back," Serena said. "Lola knows all about my history with you now. She should back off."

Nate couldn't help it, although afterward, he regretted it.

"Now you see how I felt about you and Dan."

It was almost as if his words had made it happen. After a long summer of being overseas, Dan had shown up at Victrola, coming face to face with Blair after their explosive last conversation, Blair who had been Mrs. Bass for almost three months.

It was a charged moment. Even the band stopped playing as Dan approached the table.

"Congratulations," he told Blair, looking at her the way he'd done during their yearlong friendship, and months together.

Her eyes were warm and kind, as they had been with him since her engagement to Louis. But they were the eyes of a friend. Blair had never looked at him the way she looked at Chuck.

And never would.

"Thank you, we appreciate that," she said, stroking Chuck's neck with her fingertips.

Dan then turned to Chuck. "Congratulations to you both." He lowered his voice. "Take care of her, Chuck. She's special."

"Of course I will, Humphrey. But you know, my wife is far beyond special. Your words imply that there are others in her class, and there are _not_." Still looking at Dan, he dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "She's priceless. Incomparable. And... unforgettable."

Dan turned away as they kissed, turned to find Serena.

"I need to talk to you," Dan said to her.

Nate didn't see Serena again for two days. When he finally did summon up the courage to come to the Waldorf penthouse, he knew what he would find. Thankfully, the culprit was down in the Village, at NYU.

"Nate, it's never going to work with us," said Serena. "It's good for a time, but history always catches up with us."

"History?" said Nate, furious. "Excuse me, but I didn't sleep with _my _history!"

"I've always loved Dan."

"Loved him? He dated your best friend!"

"So did you!"

"Yeah, when we were ten!" Nate shook his head. "He's not over Blair yet, Serena. He doesn't deserve you!"

Serena's eyes filled with tears.

"I can't do this multiple choice thing with you anymore, S. I can't. I have to be your only choice. I've decided, why can't you?"

"Nate, please!"

"Tell me you don't love me, Serena. Tell me, and I'll leave you the fuck alone. I will never try to be with you again."

"Natie..."

For a minute, he thought she was going to pull him close, that she'd tell him what he wanted to hear.

"I love you. But I love him, too... maybe in the future, things will be... Nate, wait!"

But Nate didn't want to hear any more. He was done.

Nate plunged into work and school with a vengeance. He heard that Dan returned to Rome, and Serena was devastated. Then he heard (from Blair) that Serena wanted to talk to him. Nate told Blair off, and she got angry, then Chuck was put out with him for upsetting Blair. Then Serena went to California for the rest of the fall to work on some movie. Then he was gone over the holidays, to visit some of his Rothschild relatives over in London (his grandmother, Grandfather William Vanderbilt's wife, had been a Rothschild).

Then it was his last semester, and one night in January, Lola came back with tears and apologies, and a plea to start over.

Something that Serena had never done.

The thing with Lola had lasted three months. Then Vanessa, tanned, trim, and gorgeous, with better hair than he'd ever seen on her, and a killer new beach bod had turned up at the spring gala. She wanted to talk and explain what happened, why she left New York. Why she'd published Dan's book. Why their time together had been unforgettable, all these years later.

And that night, Nate was a cad.

He didn't care. After many years of wondering what was wrong with Chuck, he finally got it. There was something to having stupid meaningless sex when your heart was broken. Feeling like hot guilty shit wasn't pleasant, but you could always fuck the pain away... at least, temporarily.

Besides, he knew Serena hated Vanessa. If anyone deserved a taste of her own medicine for a change, it was Serena.

Suddenly Nathaniel Archibald knew exactly why he was climbing the stairs inside the Waldorf penthouse on that graduation morning, unsure of what he might find. Dan was back, and for some reason, the girl of his dreams was hung up on him.

Nate just knew he had to talk to her. Make her feel something, anything. But he wasn't sure what to say, or why he'd come. So when he heard her voice, he just stood outside the closed door and listened.

_I thought that was the real 'water under the bridge.' But Lola's still furious, and Dan won't talk about it... or to her._

Nate frowned. So was Dan going after Lola now?

_Something happened in Spain, Chuck... when Dan went to Rome last year, he..._

What was she talking about? (And why was she so hung up on Dan, always Dan, _fucking_ Dan?)

_Yuck!_

Of course, Chuck had said something off color... he wouldn't be Chuck if he didn't. Bored with the conversation, Nate knocked on the door, then opened it.

As soon as Nate emerged into the room, their eyes locked. She was beneath the covers still. Her arms and shoulders were bare, which knowing Serena likely meant that the rest of her was too...

After all this time? Nate was frustrated by his reaction to her. Serena van der Woodsen should be illegal.

"Can I come in?"

"I have to go," she told Chuck. "Bye... and don't forget what you're supposed to do!"

Serena hung up her iPhone, then placed it on the nightstand before pulling the covers more firmly around her.

"Hi Nate. Happy graduation."

"Thanks."

"What brings you by?"

"Well... I just wanted to know whether I could bring a plus one to this dinner tonight."

"Who?"

His eyes narrowed. "You know who."

At that, Serena stared at him in a very un-Serena-like way. Nate broke the stare first. Chuck was just her stepbrother, but Nate always thought it made an odd sort of sense that they were siblings.

"As long as you can guarantee that plus one won't cause trouble, of course you can." Serena's face softened, and seemed more familiar to him. "How have you been?"

Nate shrugged. "Same old, same old."

"Happy about today?"

"Glad to get the piece of paper. Says I'm legit."

"Nate, you've been editor-in-chief for over a year now."

"Yeah, I know. Still, it feels good to get the degree. I know Blair's glad, too... it'll be good to walk across the same stage as her again."

"It must be weird, right? I mean, you guys always talked about getting married the summer after college graduation growing up."

"You know, not really. Last time I felt weird about it was when she married Louis. I didn't feel that way when she married Chuck."

Serena smiled at him. "That was a glorious summer."

In spite of himself, in spite of how angry he still was at her, Nate couldn't help it. He smiled back.

"Yeah, it was."

"Are you going to the Hamptons?"

"Yeah, Mom's already there, she spends more time out there than in the city these days... and Chuck and Blair will be there, too." He considered her. "Are you going?"

"Of course... until July, when I'm doing my next film project. Blair's going to open up their house in a couple of weeks, she says, and they're going to have a clambake Memorial Day weekend if the weather's good. Chuck's working crazy hours again, so it'll be my job to keep her out of trouble until he can get there during the weekends. Blair made me promise to stay on this side of the world for as long as I possibly can."

They were both silent. Remembering their last, happy summer together.

"I... uh, well, I should probably get going. See you later, Serena."

Just before he closed the door, he heard her soft reply.

"Later, Natie."

**_Chuck_**

For the millionth time over the past six years, Chuck Bass had the same thought he'd had almost every day:

It was ridiculous to love a woman as much as he loved Blair Bass.

That little fact had caused him so much grief, so much _hell _since he was sixteen years old, until he wondered if she was created just to torture him. Ever since he dared his partner in crime (his sexy _vixen_, his feisty little _kitten_) to climb up on the stage of a club that he'd just bought, he hadn't been the same. Over the years, his Blair had caused him sleepless nights, driven him to drink (even more than usual), got him punched, thrown out of parties, shot, and nearly strangled.

All because he went and got those damned _butterflies _for one dark-haired, doe-eyed Upper East Side princess. Prim and proper. Sexy and _red hot. _The cool exterior; the fire below.

The ink wasn't even dry on the damned deed of his very first club when the girl shimmed out of her prudish lace gown and shook her ass at him on that stage, outdancing all of the professional burlesque dancers with their heavy makeup and veiled lashes. Looking over her shoulder knowingly, with come-hither deep brown eyes... what did _she_ know about it?

And if that weren't enough, she didn't even know how to leave well enough alone. She had to go and _kiss _him. Then she didn't stop there. She let him make _love _to her. Chuck had never, ever made love before that night, he'd just _fucked, _he'd gotten off, and the women were interchangeable, so it was all new for him.

He knew he wanted to make it good for her, so he knew it couldn't be all about him and his needs. So he treated her as if she was a china doll at first, stroking every inch of her (her damned skin, oh God, that _soft, perfect _skin), loving her neck because it was there that he first felt her pulse flutter beneath his lips (her neck, his Kryptonite), loving her breasts because he knew from the sounds that she made that he was the first one to pay any attention to them (Nate was a _fool_), loving the plane of her stomach (more _soft, perfect skin)_, loving her hips and thighs because they were like the gift wrapping, the entrance, the foyer for what was to come (Nate was an _idiot_), and loving her perfect, hot, wet, _tight, pink..._

Even six years later, the memory of that moment had the power to make him rock hard.

He couldn't _believe _he was the first one to have this fucking _perfect _girl. And she was _perfect _in his arms, wantonly riding him, coming for the first time _ever _all over him, all around him. And if that weren't enough, it wasn't a fluke... they'd made love _three times _in that back of that limo. Some newly considerate part of Chuck worried that Blair would be sore, and thought that maybe they should have gone to 1812 first, but most of that rational part of his brain was in shock and disbelief. And the rest of him was turned on like he couldn't _believe._

Chuck was still as much in awe of his wife as he'd been when they were teenagers. He knew that he always would be... especially since he'd thought he'd lost her forever for two, long, torturous, _excruciating _years. With the exception of the few weeks in the fall of 2010 when they'd had what they called "hate sex" (although both knew that it was more), that glorious night in the spring of 2011 after the bar mitzvah when Blair thought she'd conceived _his _child, and the few moments before the tragic accident later that fall, he'd spent two years without her.

Chuck swore that until he was pushing daisies, six feet under, there was no way that would _ever_ happen again.

Many were the nights, even now, that he'd wake up from one of his nightmares. She was the leading lady, every time. Sometimes, she'd wake with him, and coax him into talking it out. Most of the time, just her sweet presence was enough to calm him down, the sight and the scent of her, watching her sleep, hearing her breathe. She was all fire and lightning and thunder when she was awake, a force to be reckoned with, but asleep, she was an angel.

_His _dark angel. His wife.

Now he was at Harry Winston, having slipped out of the penthouse while his wife showered to pick up the custom designed piece that was her gift. Not her graduation gift... that was already stowed away in the safe, and he'd retrieve it before they headed to Columbia. Not her first wedding anniversary gift, which was still in the works.

This was a "you're having my baby, and I love you" gift.

Blair Cornelia Bass (he never used Waldorf when referring to her any longer, not since the day she became his wife) was having his baby. Chuck wanted to shout it to the rooftops. (He did shout when she first told him, and he knew she'd never let him live it down.) Although they wouldn't know the gender for sure for another few weeks, Chuck didn't care. The decorators had already presented several designs for the baby's nursery to them.

He was even secretly glad about the timing. There had never been a question of Yale Law for her... although Blair insisted that she would be the one to commute, Chuck had already begun to look at real estate in Connecticut, and had planned to buy a place they could share while he commuted back and forth to the city. But with the baby, it meant she wouldn't be starting until the fall of 2014, when their child was nearly a year old. They'd have even more time to figure things out...

"Mr. Bass," said the fawning store manager. "It is a pleasure, sir. A pleasure and an honor. Right this way..."

As he completed the purchase, muttering noncommittal pleasantries to the manager, Chuck wondered if he'd ever be more like Bart when it came to money. As shocking and traumatic as his father's return from the grave had been, Chuck admired the man for being able to survive in the everyday world that he came from. Chuck and Bart had never really talked before his father's disappearance, but now that he was back, they were building a tenuous relationship.

It was almost as if his thoughts made his cell phone ring as soon as he was back in the limo. Chuck saw who it was, and picked it up.

"Good morning, Dad. I'll be in soon."

"That's not what I called about, Chuck... and why are you coming in today? Blair's graduating."

"I know, but I got the overnight email about the Hong Kong construction problem. I figured I could slip away for a couple of hours while she gets ready to see to things."

"No need. I've just got off the videoconference with the team over there. It was a miscommunication. I'll fly out there tomorrow and put out any fires, but I think they have things under control." Pause. "Have you had breakfast yet?"

"Yes, Eric and Alec had breakfast with us before I left."

"Then meet me for coffee. I have something I want to give you."

Chuck felt elated. If only he and Bart had been able to talk things out like this, before everything. If only...

But Blair was right. There was no use regretting the past. As she always said, they only had today, and the future.

"Sure, Dad. I'll just call Blair to let her know, then I'll meet you at the Palace office," Chuck said.

"That's fine..."

Chuck's phone beeped. He smiled when he saw who it was.

"Speak of the devil. I'll be there soon, Dad."

He clicked over. Before he could say anything at all, the voice he loved more than any other in the world rang in his ears.

"Bass! Where are you? And before you say anything, I'm standing here in the study."

"Well, hello to you too, lover. I'm heading in for coffee with Dad."

"Which one? You have two, and I have three. All of whom are in town."

"The one whose DNA I actually have... and I never refer to Rufus Humphrey as my dad. You know that."

"Fine. What does Bart want?"

"He didn't say. We have this damned Hong Kong project that you know has been a pain in the ass, so it's probably about that. But I'll be home in an hour."

"You'd better be. That Hong Kong project's been a pain in _my _ass, and I don't even work for BI."

_You will someday, _he thought. "Will you make it worth my while?"

"I was, but in an hour, I'll be dressed for my graduation. Such a shame, you should see what I have on now. All for my unappreciative husband, who leaves the house without telling me."

"Blair..."

"Chuck, if I left the house without telling you, you'd have an entire PI firm and half the NYPD scouring all five boroughs, the airports, the train stations, the sewer system..."

"I would." He smirked. "So don't leave without telling me."

"You are the most exasperating man I've ever met."

"I love you too, Blair... what is it? Or did you call just to insult me?"

"I don't need to call for that, I just text." She sighed. "Chuck, when are we going to tell everyone that we're pregnant?"

"Didn't we talk about that last night?"

"We talk about it every night, but we never come up with any answers. I'm nearing the end of the time when I can hide this baby bump, and spring and summer couture doesn't do it any favors. So, unless you want everyone whispering about how fat Chuck Bass' wife is getting..."

"We'll tell them tonight," he said suddenly, thinking about all the planning he and Serena had been doing, and anticipating the look on Blair's face. "Our families will all be there."

"It's perfect timing," said Blair. "This way, I won't have to endure thirty tiresome conversations asking when you and I are moving to New Haven."

"Speaking of perfect timing, how close are you to being ready? You know we have lunch guests coming before we leave for your ceremony..."

"Not close at all, Bass, which is why I've called you. I suppose I'll make myself presentable. And I'd like to remind you that lunch will be served early, at 11:15, so that we will be at Columbia well before 2 pm..."

Dark hazel eyes twinkled as he saw the Palace up ahead. "Oh, I wouldn't dream of being late."

"Chuck?"

"Yes?"

"I know we have to tell everyone. But really, it's been so sweet keeping it to ourselves for the past few months."

He could hear the smile in her voice. "Another one of those grand BlairandChuck, ChuckandBlair schemes that we're so famous for."

"Our very grandest of all."

"And just as notorious as his or her parents, I'm sure."

"Notorious? Oh, no. Our son's not going to be noted for anything except for his good graces, poise, and impeccable taste." Pause. "And his father's perfect bone structure, too."

"So you're giving me a son?" Chuck smirked. As much as he'd love a little girl, he had a hunch that their firstborn would be a boy, too. According to Bart, there had always been more male Basses than female. "How do you know it's a boy?"

"I just _know. _Chuck, as long as we don't tell anyone, he's that much more ours."

"Blair, he'll be ours no matter what. Contrary to popular belief, we are both human, and I assume our offspring will be, too. That means we'll have to let them out of the cage eventually."

"Very funny," she said. "Come home soon, Chuck. I miss you already."

It was true, what he said to her over a year before. She really was the lightest thing that ever came into his life. She lit up his entire world.

"I miss you too, Blair," he murmured. "And I'm proud of you. I'll find out what my father wants, then for the rest of the day, college graduate, I'll be right by your side."

"_Our _side. There's two of us in your corner now. You're not alone anymore, Chuck, and you never will be again."

As they said goodbye and hung up, Chuck thought about what she said. His father was waiting for him in the office, and Blair waiting for him at home.

And for the millionth time that year, Chuck Bass felt like the luckiest man in the world.

**_Vanessa_**

Even though she'd been gone for two years, New York was New York, Vanessa Abrams thought, running at Nate Archibald's side through Central Park. She'd only taken up running during her time in Spain, admiring the svelte shapes of the Spanish senoritas, wanting to be more trim. Yet she was too Brooklyn to actually worry about what she ate, or do really weird and exotic exercises.

Soon, she learned that running was the perfect release. Running helped to clear her mind. It made her feel less stressed. It helped her sort through the trainwreck that her life had become.

Nothing was supposed to be this way. She was sure that she would be a famous playwright by now, perhaps even premiering the ironic musical of the decade on Broadway like Jonathan Larsen had (without the untimely illness and death, of course... Vanessa appreciated a tragicomedy as much as any hipster, but still, she also liked living).

However, fate had stalled her. Fate, and a fickle Humphrey. She'd tried to forget Dan in the arms of Spaniard after Spaniard. When that didn't work, she moved on to the Italians. Then the Germans... and there was one Polish guy she just _knew _would help her move on. Pierogies and all that.

Yet the Pole just reminded her of Nate. Nate was the best she'd ever had... best sex, best boyfriend, best everything. Blair Waldorf had ruined that, of course, just swept in and like that, Nate was gone.

Mighty selfish of her, Vanessa had always thought. Everyone knew that Chuck and Blair were going to end up together. They were both so sick and twisted until there really was no one else for them. Vanessa was not surprised in the least by the fact that they'd married.

(She did, however, think her former best friend was the world's biggest idiot for voluntarily inserting himself in the middle of that particular clusterfuck... Blair, Chuck, and the Prince of Monaco? Dan kinda deserved everything he got.)

Everyone thought she'd come back for Dan. So when she'd shown up in New York City, no one expected her to show up at the Empire. Of course, the hotel staff informed that he was out. Of course, Gossip Girl informed her that he was attending at the Historic East Side Preservation Society's Spring Charity Ball, escorting a Miss Lola Charlotte Rhodes (who looked _nothing _like the Charlie Vanessa had met the year before). Rather classy of Nate to keep things in the family, Vanessa reflected, although there was no accounting for Nate's taste. Vanessa remembered the titled cougar he'd got himself tangled up with, and then there was _Diana, _who was tied into the entire Bass family drama.

Yet Nate was Nate. He was a guy's guy, refreshingly simple compared to former curly haired best friends.

So Vanessa did as she always did. She simply crashed the society party, and took her man. Within hours, she was in Nate's bed, enjoying him once again... and given how much he enjoyed her, she wondered what the eff that Lola tart had been doing all those months.

They'd fallen into an easy routine. Nate had his classes at Columbia and the _Spectator, _while Vanessa, who'd finished all her NYU coursework a semester early, sat on the rooftop of the Empire and wrote her play. She knew she needed to find an agent, but for now, she was enjoying her lot in life.

She was at first a little weirded out by the fact that Chuck and Blair had lived here, together, that Chuck had entertained other women there as well. Of course, his old room was now their guest suite, and the Basses never visited. Rumor had it that Blair absolutely refused to move back into that place. So Chuck made the news when he bought their brand-new penthouse overlooking Central Park, because it was one of the most expensive real estate purchases of the year. It was three stories, and so very them... it somehow combined his dark, contemporary style with her love of elegance, antiques, and Paris perfectly.

Vanessa had been there with Nate several times. The Basses seemed as overjoyed to see her as she was to have to deal with them. Still, it seemed that they'd all grown up, or else considered her unworthy of their notice. It almost made Vanessa nostalgic for the days when they schemed against her...

"What are you thinking about so hard?" panted Nate, slowing to a jog. Vanessa doubled back.

"Eh, just clearing my head."

"Still working on that scene?"

"No, just thinking about old times." Pause. "Where'd you go this morning?"

"Just out to return something to a friend. I thought you were asleep... you weren't awake when I left, and I thought I woke you up when I came back."

"And how," Vanessa said. "You're really planning on going to this thing tonight?"

"Yeah, of course. But I understand if you don't want to."

"Nah, I want to celebrate your graduation, Nate. They're your friends, and your parents and grandparents and everyone will be there. It's important to you."

Sweaty and still trying to catch his breath, Nate leaned out and kissed her quickly.

"God, I've missed you, V. Funny how after all this time, things are working out." He grinned. "I've got something I want to talk to you about."

"What is it?"

"Later. For now, I want a graduation shower... and I know just who I want in there with me."

His grin turned sexy, and Vanessa blushed.

She didn't deserve him. She really didn't.

**_Eric_**

"So, now that you've met all of them, what do you think?" asked Eric van der Woodsen, not looking at his boyfriend as they strolled down Madison Avenue. It was always scary when you arrived at the "meet the parents" stage, but it was even scarier for Eric, who always knew that the Upper East Side was dysfunctional beyond belief.

"I liked them," said Alec. "I enjoyed meeting your mother and stepfathers at breakfast yesterday, then Dan, who's..."

"Also my stepbrother... and yes, that was my sister he was with at lunch. It's complicated."

"Eric, I'm European," said Alec patiently. "I don't judge."

Eric, with a surge of gratitude, kissed his cheek. It was an innocent PDA, yet he could feel the eyes on them. It was frustrating. Yet it was the life he had chosen, and he was proud of who he was.

"I really enjoyed staying with Chuck and Blair," said Alec. "They're a wonderful couple. I had heard all kinds of things..."

"Few people really bother getting to know them, especially Chuck," said Eric. "And they don't exactly let many people in. But Chuck, when he's himself, he always takes care of me. I'm so glad Mom married Bart, even if it was just for a little while. Mom and Serena were always looking to me to take care of them... Mom needed a guy in her life who always approved of her, I guess, and Serena just was this little girl lost. She thinks she looked after me, but I looked after _her_. But Chuck helped me accept who I am. He had a terrible rep, but still, he was himself. Even though he's mellowed out a little, he's still himself."

"I wonder if he's bi," said Alec.

Eric frowned. "What, did he hit on you?"

"Of course not, he only has eyes for Blair. But I've never seen a straight man pull off _that_ ascot and _those_ socks. I was impressed."

"You'll like my stepsister, then," said Eric. "She's also a fashionista."

"The designer? I love a girl who knows how to dress."

"I wouldn't go that far," Eric laughed. "The last time Jenny and I met up in London, I had no idea what she was wearing. All I know is that it was latex and lace."

"Yes, I cannot wait to meet this girl," Alec said. "Blair has impeccable taste herself, but I don't think she'll be wearing couture much longer."

Eric snorted. "You don't know Blair Waldorf Bass."

"No, but I do know it when a woman is pregnant. Occupational hazard."

The youngest van der Woodsen stopped in his tracks.

"Blair's... pregnant? How do you know?"

"Eric, I am a medical student. I am hoping to specialize in women's health. I have been studying this, and my last rotation was in OB/GYN. From the looks of her, she's either at the beginning of her second trimester, or close to it."

"It would be just like her and Chuck not to say anything," said Eric thoughtfully. "Wow, you're right! Remember, neither of them touched a drop of alcohol last night!"

"I thought they didn't drink."

Another snort. "Clearly, you don't know Chuck and Blair Bass. Oh, this is huge. Huge! My parents are going to be over the moon! And I'm going to be an uncle..."

"We're going to be uncles," said Alec, meaningfully. "Eric, I want you to think over what I've asked you. You said you'd give me an answer..."

"After the graduations are over," Eric said, a little hesitantly. "Alec, you know what you mean to me. Today's for family, tomorrow will be for us."

They clasped hands and walked down the street, not caring who saw their bliss.

**_Jenny_**

Still on London time, Jenny Humphrey had been up since 3 in the morning. She spent the early morning hours on the rooftop sketching, enjoying the light from the sunrise as she drew. Although she didn't have any fabric and her sewing machine was across the pond, her fingers itched to create.

After breakfast, she decided to go for a walk, to refamiliarize herself with the streets of the Upper East Side. Senior year in Hudson, two years at St. Martin's, and hundreds of hours of therapy in the US and England had helped, as did the prescription pillbox stashed in her Alexander Wang handbag. As a result, Jenny's life was much better than it had been since her early teens.

Grabbing a latte, she considered her personal life. Even as her future as a designer shone bright, friends were few and far between. It was something that really did hurt Jenny. After her failed attempts to be an It Girl and reigning social queen at Constance, she was popular and well-liked in Hudson, but hadn't really been there long enough to forge lasting bonds with the other girls there. Then when she arrived at Central St. Martin's, the competitive atmosphere and her giftedness meant she had more acquaintances than close friends.

Dan and Eric had each visited her several times in London, but it wasn't the same as having girlfriends. Although she'd come to terms with everything that had happened to her during her three years at Constance, it didn't mean that she didn't on occasion miss having someone like Agnes in her life, as crazy as she'd been. Or long for the approval of someone like Blair, as mean as she'd been.

To be successful, though, meant to be alone... at least, that's what Jenny had come to believe. She wondered why she was such an utter disaster when it came to relationships. There was the thing with Asher, who ended up liking her future stepbrother more than he liked her. There was the rejection from Damien, who had been terrible to her. There was the confusion around Nate, who she thought really liked her, and the madness around Chuck, who she thought lusted after her before his thing started up with Blair.

When she was younger, the fact that she'd made out with Chuck Bass at her very first society party secretly affirmed her, even before Dan asked about the incident the morning after the Kiss on the Lips party, and Blair initiated that whole "You're wondering what Chuck Bass is saying about you" conversation. When he thought she was a hot girl from Chapin at the masquerade ball, Jenny couldn't resist a little payback of her own. (Let the record show that Jennifer Tallulah Humphrey sometimes fought her own battles.)

It wasn't Chuck that she wanted, however. He was too dark, too intense, too complicated... and obviously Blair's. It was Nate who Jenny really always wanted. Nate who kissed her three times, each more memorable than the last. He kissed her when he thought she was Serena van der Woodsen freshman year. He kissed her after he rescued her from Agnes and that sleazy photographer sophomore year, then again after her guerilla fashion show at Lily and Bart's tribute gala.

And then junior year, he'd been her perfect Cotillion date. Of course, then Serena suddenly decided she wanted him. But Jenny was convinced that she and Nate were destined and would have been together if Vanessa hadn't stolen his letter to her the year before. So she went after him, Serena be damned. She kissed him on his birthday, during the game of Assassin. But when he told her he wanted to be with Serena, he broke her heart. It sent Jenny spiraling into a path of revenge and self-destruction. She never wanted to go there again.

If there was one thing in her life she could take back, she'd take back sleeping with Chuck. She'd given him her virginity, because she felt that nothing mattered. Nate was just the worst and latest rejection. Damien didn't want her, and neither had Asher or anyone else. And Chuck... Chuck was so inattentive until it had put Jenny off sex... it didn't hurt, she gave him that much, but she'd felt nothing, and judging from the conversation he'd had with Blair shortly afterward, neither had he.

Jenny hadn't indulged again since that night three years before. Not if it was going to be like that. Chuck was super experienced, so she should have at least felt what she did when she touched herself.

Jenny figured she was broken. Clearly, boys and men saw this, so the opposite sex didn't want her... at least those who she wanted. She just didn't know what was wrong with her. Maybe she was meant to just be talented, not to be loved.

Why hadn't Nate loved her?

She'd had many admirers in Hudson, and even went to prom with one of them. Mike was sweet, and kind, and utterly unlike any of the rich society boys she'd known while at Constance. They didn't do much more than kiss, though.

Then there was Central Saint Martin's. The English boys reminded her of Chuck, although she didn't know why. The European boys reminded her of Damien. The American boys reminded her of Nate.

So she decided to have tunnel vision, and focus on her career. She was only twenty years old. When she was a fashion mogul, there would be time enough to worry about finding the right man...

"Jenny Humphrey?"

She looked up.

And it was just her luck that she'd run into Nathaniel Archibald.

With Vanessa Abrams on his arm, looking daggers at her.

The old Jenny would have felt intimidated or got defensive.

This wasn't the old Jenny, however. This was the new Jenny. She wasn't 15 anymore; she was 20. Confident, beautiful, and cool as a cucumber.

A half smile quirked her lips.

_This should be interesting._

**_Chuck_**

Bart got off the phone as soon as he saw Chuck come into his office.

"Excuse me, Friedrich, my son's here now. I've got to go. Yes, I'll be there sometime tomorrow... I'll relay your congratulations and best wishes to my daughter-in-law. Thank you."

He hung up as Chuck sat down. Face as impassive and stony as usual, Bart's blue eyes nonetheless grew warm. His longtime secretary Eugenia brought in coffee service, and Bart stood up, intending to go to the bar for Kahlua, Irish Cream, or something stronger.

"So how's Blair this morning?"

"She's... Blair," said Chuck. "Nothing in my coffee, thanks. I'll take it black."

Bart looked at his son curiously.

"I haven't seen you touch a drop in weeks. Anything I need to know about?"

"In due course. How's Hong Kong?"

They discussed the hotel complex Bass Industries was building in Hong Kong. It was always going to be an expensive project, one they'd avoided for years, but when the old Kimberly Hotel came up for sale in the fall, it was too tempting to pass up. It was Chuck's project, with Bart merely advising and stepping in when Chuck asked him to. But the costs were mounting even before the renovations began, so most of the winter had been spent securing permits to demolish and rebuild.

"The worst part of a project like this is the middle stages," said Bart. "When I was your age, I used to think of it as muddling in the middle. Sometimes, you get stuck. But maintain an iron will, accept no excuses from your team, and the building will start appearing before your eyes." Bart leaned back. "By Thanksgiving, you'll be able to fly your wife over to see the penthouse. The location is perfect. I think she'll like the view, don't you?"

Chuck didn't say anything. Instead, he asked, "Did they call you about our box at MSG for the Rangers next year?"

"It's all taken care of. We've got a ten-year lease on it. Box for the Yankees is a different story, but then, neither of us are huge baseball fans."

"I've started going to Knicks games sometimes with Nathaniel and Blair. Nathaniel's into basketball, and Blair likes to people watch. We should think about season tickets. Courtside, not a box."

"I'll ask Eugenia or Antonio to get on it right away... so, Columbia at four, right?"

"Commencement starts at four. I'd arrive early to avoid traffic."

"I've got a meeting with the legal team at two. Tried to cancel, but it's about the other project in Vegas, and they fly out this evening. I'll take the helicopter."

"Dad, don't rush," said Chuck. Only a tiny flicker in his eyes showed his nervousness. "Blair will understand if you're late."

Bart nodded once, in recognition. "I called you because something arrived this morning for you." He reached for a large envelope, resting on the velvet of his blotter. "I took the liberty of opening it, but I trust that you'll forgive me."

Chuck took the envelope and pulled out the letter inside. The first thing he noticed was the seal.

"Dad, this is from Yale."

"Read it."

"Dear Mr. Charles Bartholomew Bass. We are happy..." he glanced up at his father, frowning, "to offer you admission to Yale University, and are delighted to welcome you as a member of the class of 2017." His frown deepened. "Dad, what is this?"

"Admission to Yale."

"Strange. I don't recall applying."

"I called the president. Although your St. Jude's record was abysmal... Charles, really, a 2.8?"

"I'm surprised my GPA was that high, actually," Chuck observed.

"Your SAT was nearly perfect."

"It wasn't mine. I paid someone to take it for me."

"Not the time you took it during that prep course I forced you into the summer before your junior year. All of those practice tests were real. You scored a 2380 on one of those tests, Charles."

"Didn't know, didn't care... I hated every single second of school after eighth grade. I never wanted to attend college."

"It's not about what you want, son. I thought you understood that, especially after all this time."

"I ran Bass Industries for three years and handed it back to you better than before."

"You haven't exactly handed it back. We're running it together."

"All the same. You didn't attend college."

"Both Donald and Warren did."

Chuck had known the Trumps and the Buffetts all his life, and suddenly knew what this was about.

"Dad, my life can't be a do-over of yours. Not only did you not attend college, you're kicking Donald's ass in real estate these days. He's busy doing reality TV and campaigning, currying favor with the proles, while we're expanding our empire to every continent..."

"Your generation is different."

"It is _not_. Mark Zuckerberg is only a few years older than I am. He made his billion _after_ he dropped out of Harvard."

Bart turned his chair to look out of the window.

"Your mother always wanted me to finish. When she was pregnant with you, she urged me to go back, to enroll at Wharton, at least take a few classes. She knew we'd be having this conversation someday."

He trailed off and turned back around to face Chuck.

"You do realize that your mother was a Princeton alumna, don't you? Your wife, my daughter-in-law, will be a graduate of Columbia in a few hours' time, and in a few years, her resume will be burnished with a Yale Law degree."

"No one is more proud of Blair than me," Chuck answered easily. "I'm proud of what Mom was able to do, too. But as everyone in the world has told me all my life, I am my father's son. Do you really want me to waste four years in college?"

"Six," said Bart slowly. "Four at Yale, then I want you to get your MBA from Wharton."

"Dad..."

"Son, there's a reason why there are only a handful of old money families not only in the United States, but around the world. I've been studying this ever since I made my first hundred million, Chuck." Bart only used his son's nickname when he wanted to drive a point home. "Most families lose their wealth within three or four generations. The founder of a dynasty builds an empire. His heir maintains it. And then, _his _heirs squander it. The fourth and fifth generations are often worse off than the founder's parents."

"That won't happen to us."

"It won't. But part of that is building a legacy. Look at Nathaniel... not because I'm throwing him up as some shining example, the boy has always been a bit vapid... but even while defying William and the Captain, he always knew that he had to get a college degree from an Ivy League institution. He was never into school, but he's walking across that stage today. Your own wife comes from an established family, and Harold and Eleanor set aside the funds for her education the minute she was born. I remember when your mother and I first met them that Christmas, Eleanor was telling us about the hundred grand they set aside for their new baby girl's college fund. Evelyn and I were grateful, because we'd just found out about you."

In spite of himself, Chuck smirked. "I'm amused that my dear old mother-in-law has been trying to civilize me ever since the womb."

"Son, I'd advise you to _never _allow Eleanor Waldorf Rose to hear you calling her old. Or her daughter, for that matter."

"Of course not. I value my life."

Bart refused to change the subject. "Charles, being the head of this family is more than just about making money. You and I have both proven that we can make more money than we'll ever know what to do with. It's also about making a name in society, in philanthropy, and eventually making history. You know, I grew up reading biographies of Andrew Carnegie. He came from nothing, and now his name is inscribed on some of the most prestigious institutions and buildings in this country. I want that for the Bass family, and I know that you do, too."

"Dad..." He trailed off. Blair would be furious if she knew what he was going to say. But he knew Bart, had been observing him all his life, knew his father wouldn't say anything to get him in trouble with his wife.

And he'd tell her all about this conversation as soon as he got home. Other than their games and surprises, Chuck and Blair had no secrets in their marriage. Not after the hell they'd been through.

"What is it? Don't tell me that you're not going. It's non-negotiable."

Instead of arguing (and Chuck knew Bart was prepared for it, for his blue eyes had gone from warm to cold), Chuck sighed.

"Dad, maybe I'll consider this, but not now. Neither Blair nor I are leaving New York this year. She's going to defer."

"Why?"

"Because Blair's pregnant."

And the fear in Bart's eyes mirrored that in his own.

**~to be continued~**

A/N: Thanks a million to my incomparable betas, DrGG and K. Pink peonies and B's favorite macarons to all my Chair lovelies at the TV Fanatic forums, and all Chair shippers everywhere (SC&B, on Tumblr, the Gossip Girlsss, and the thousands who Tweet faithfully every week). You are the inspiration for this story.

This fic pays homage to a few of my favorite Chair authors and stories. Chair's elopement was inspired by DrGG's post-4x09 fic "We Can Build Our Futures Together." Eric being closest to Chuck and Blair, choosing to stay with them over Lily or Serena, was inspired by Bob5's Fraternite. BI's executive secretary was inspired (and named after) Eugenia in kaela097's stories. There are so many others; I'll be bookmarking my favorites soon.

Hydrangeas and cabbage roses to all the GG fans who are still sticking with this show, no matter what (or if) you ship. And laurels and roses to the actors who are doing their best to entertain us, no matter what.


	2. Afternoon

**POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE**

**Summary:** One year after the events of Season 5, it's college graduation day for Nate Archibald, Dan Humphrey... and Blair Waldorf Bass. Serena and Chuck are planning a celebration to remember. Everyone's back in town, including Eric, Jenny, and Vanessa. Even in adulthood, the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite are still scandalous! A Chair centric, post-Dair fic. (AU after 5x19, with a few late season 5 spoilers.)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in the Gossip Girl universe, not even (sadly) Chuck or Nate. Major props to Cecily von Ziegesar, the CW, the producers, actors, and crew, and everyone involved with bringing these amazing characters to life.

**Chapter 2 – Afternoon.**

May 2013, later in the same day.

_**Blair**_

Even though she was youngest among the society matrons who mattered, Blair Waldorf Bass was already known for setting the finest table on the Upper East Side. Whether the setting was her father-in-law's penthouse at the Palace, or the elegant home she shared with her husband on Park Avenue, photographs of her legendary brunches, lunches, and dinners regularly appeared on the pages of New York and national lifestyle magazines.

Blair always felt as if her husband deserved more credit for their trendsetting events. Always the urban dandy in his dress, there were times when Blair wasn't exactly sure about a place setting or a color scheme. She'd either pull Chuck into the room in question, or if he wasn't home yet, snap a few photos and send them to him. With a quick nod, a shake of his head, or one of those signature smirks that meant "woman, are you serious?" she'd know exactly how everything ought to look.

Although this luncheon was only for their nearest and dearest, Blair's table was still set impeccably. She didn't do things just for the accolades. She did them because she got a deep satisfaction out of it, a sense that _this is how it ought to be done. _And her dining room was quite splendid indeed, with its floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking Central Park, with French doors near the butler's pantry leading out to the terrace.

As Blair looked at her table with satisfaction, Dorota came through, doing her final rounds of the household before scurrying off to change at home before Blair's graduation. Dorota's services had been a wedding gift from her mother, who was reluctant to give up the loyal Waldorf maid who had been with Blair forever. These days, Dorota was the head housekeeper of the Bass household, supervising the three housecleaners who did day work, Chuck's valet and driver, the butler Ricardo, the chef Xavier, and the part-time staff Ricardo and Xavier employed whenever the Basses entertained.

When the baby came, Dorota would also supervise the nursery staff, although Blair swore to Chuck there would be no nannies or au pairs or governesses or "any of the creatures paid to look after us when we were little. We'll raise our babies ourselves."

"What about Dorota?" he'd said. "Don't you want our children to have someone like her?"

"Chuck, there's only one Dorota! And she's mine!"

Chuck, being Chuck, kept his thoughts to himself. But Blair knew that he'd already placed a discreet call to the top agency for childcare in the city, knew she'd have it out with him when the time came. She couldn't wait! Blair was sure that it would be a face-off for the ages...

All part of their foreplay, of course.

Back in the present, Blair regarded her loyal maid with considerable satisfaction.

"Dorota, I think we're all done, and it's almost eleven. We're right on time."

"We are. Everyone be here at any minute... where is Mister Chuck?"

"On his way back," Blair said, eyeing the centerpiece, cocking her head to one side, then circling the table. "He's texted me every five minutes with his exact location. I expect him at any time."

"Well, who else coming? We have your mother, Mister Cyrus, Mister Harold, and Mister Roman..."

"Yes. Also Serena and Nate, the Captain and Anne Archibald, and Eric and Alec. A perfect group of twelve."

"What about Mister Bart? Mrs. Lily and Mister Rufus? And isn't Nate's grandfather coming?"

"What is this, twenty questions? You know that Rufus and Lily are going to the NYU graduation, and Bart and William will be joining us later!" She smiled at Dorota. "Now go, stop being so nosy, and kiss those precious little babies hello for me."

Dorota smiled, looking at her young boss with hooded, appraising eyes. Blair was not pleased. Trust Dorota to start getting suspicious!

"Mrs. Blair, you should get off your feet. All is ready."

"Dorota, you know that's not possible! I never can sit down when I'm about to entertain. I'll just have to get back up again..."

The ding of the elevator sounded. Dorota followed Blair down the hall and into the foyer.

"Dorota, is Mrs. Blair relaxing before her big afternoon and evening, or is she ordering everyone about?" said Chuck as he laid his briefcase and coat on the table for the valet to put away.

"Mister Chuck, thank _God_ you are here... she has been..."

"_Dorota," _said Blair, eyes drinking in the sight of her husband. "If you don't leave now, there's no way you'll make it to Queens and back by three-thirty. You don't want to be late to my graduation, do you?"

Dorota, flustered, got onto the elevator, and with a little wave, disappeared.

As soon as the doors closed, Chuck's arms wrapped around Blair as he kissed her.

"You have to see this table," she said, mostly against his lips. "Columbia blue and Yale blue, with a hint of gold here and there... and the menu..."

"Oh, I'm sure it's _delicious_," he said, deepening their kiss, taking her full bottom lip between his teeth for emphasis. Blair felt the very familiar coil of desire starting to wind tight, as it had this morning, the night before... and every single day of her life as the woman he loved.

"Chu-u-ck," she said, head spinning, "our guests will be here any minute."

"_Blair,"_ he said, breath hot against her neck, "that's what we pay our staff for. Generously, might I add."

Her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she savored the feel of his very talented hands tracing patterns on her skirt-covered hips and thighs, as his lips and tongue claimed her neck.

"So when..." his hand slipped beneath the skirt of her dress to trace circles on her thigh, right above her garterless stockings, "...will I get my _punishment_ for leaving home without my wife's permission?"

"Not enough time," she breathed, although her head was spinning. "And don't you _dare _leave a mark there for our posterity to see. Photographs are forever."

"You could wear one of your Hermès scarves..."

He was temptation itself. She considered it, then shook her head, hand coming up to push his face away from her neck.

"It's going to be more than eighty degrees this afternoon. No, I cannot."

He turned her around suddenly, and pulled her flush against him. She knew how she affected him even before he ground into her hips.

"You had better be prepared to make it up to me later, wife," he growled into her ear. Fingers running over her collarbone, then sweeping downward to cup a silk-covered breast.

"I was the one who came into your study this morning wearing _nothing_ but your robe and my favorite pair of Falke stockings, _husband,_" she whispered back, feeling as if she was turning into molten lava in his arms. "Only to find you gone. So if anything, you had better be prepared to make it up to _me."_

Blair stepped away from him just as the elevator bell sounded again, but not before he got a good pinch of her derriere. Great. She was going to have to change her La Perlas before lunch, because they were _soaked_.

As she heard her husband greet the Captain and Anne Archibald in a polite, formal manner (as if he hadn't been seducing her just one minute earlier!), Blair was once again slightly unnerved by what always sparked up between them. She could just write it off as pregnancy induced hormones. Maybe after she had the baby, she wouldn't be like a bitch in heat all the time when it came to Chuck.

Then she remembered her words at not-quite-eighteen: _I have an itch that only Chuck can scratch._

And all these years later, she could feel the heat from his lips on her neck.

No, she'd likely have to pull him away towards the end of lunch. Which meant she'd have to change before they left for the procession. _Damn him. _

She was addicted.

_**Serena**_

Serena stood on the sidewalk outside of the Waldorf penthouse, annoyed by the regents of both New York University and Columbia University. Why on earth would they host commencement exercises at the same time? Now she was forced to choose between Blair and Nate, or Dan. Her best friend and sister-in-law... her childhood friend, ex, and... whatever she and Nate were these days... and the man she'd declared the year before to be the love of her life.

The Columbia graduation would be witnessed by everyone she'd grown up with. Eleanor and Blair's dads would be there, as would the Captain and Anne Archibald. So would William Vanderbilt and Bart Bass. All of the adults loved her except for Anne, and Serena didn't care about her anyway.

Lily had told Serena many years ago that she and Anne had a bit of rivalry, when Lily first married William van der Woodsen and moved to the Upper East Side. Anne always though Lily got too much attention, and didn't behave as a proper heiress should, but of course she wouldn't, since Lily's father was _new money. _Now, Celia Rhodes had grown up on the Upper East Side and her blood was blue enough, but she'd gone and married a man who was all money and no substance...

"The same mistake that Blair Waldorf made," Serena heard Anne say in passing at a charity benefit last autumn, to a group of her snooty friends.

Serena whirled around on her five-inch Louboutin heels. Perhaps it was because she'd already had a martini and three glasses of champagne. Perhaps it was because she was still a bit angry with Nate. But this was one gossipfest that she _would_ crash.

"You'd know all about marital mistakes, wouldn't you, Anne?" Serena said, inserting herself into the circle of middle-aged women. "In fact, I'm sure that all of you can relate. After all, this is the Upper East Side."

"Serena, you are young," said Anne, as her friends gasped at the ingénue's audacity. "Charles Bass is an unsuitable husband for such a gently bred young lady. I'm sure that Blair will do much better next time."

"Third time's the charm," giggled one of the much-Botoxed matrons.

"Like you're all hoping for? Well, there won't be a next time for Blair," said Serena. "She's young and beautiful, her ex is European royalty, and her husband is a handsome billionaire who only screws _her _and not every other woman in Manhattan. I just think you're jealous because none of _your_ philandering husbands have screwed any of you properly since polyester was last in style."

They all gasped. Inwardly, Serena did too. She couldn't believe she defended the stomach-turning tableau that her sister-in-law and brother made together. Or that she'd actually referred to her brother as "handsome." _Ew! _But Chuck and Blair belonged together, and she would always defend them from their detractors.

So Serena pressed the verbal dagger home while the women were still stunned into silence.

"And her bloodlines are as good, if not better, than any of yours."

"They're certainly better than yours," said an aging Astor heiress, recovering from her shock.

"Oh, I don't get by on my family name _or _my reputation," said Serena. "I have my looks to fall back on. I'm sure none of you can relate. Now, if you ladies will excuse me."

It was perhaps best that she and Nate didn't have a thing going on any longer. Anne Vanderbilt Archibald had never cared for her, not in childhood, not as a teen, and especially not after her short affair with her nephew, Nate's cousin Tripp. But after that exchange, she would faint at the idea of Serena van der Woodsen wearing a Vanderbilt ring. Yet Serena doubted that Anne would be pleased by the idea of Vanessa Abrams wearing it, anyway...

...and Serena realized that she'd just spent five minutes thinking about Anne Archibald. It was now 11:30. Blair would kill her.

Well, since she was already late _and _dead...

Serena pulled her iPhone out of her pocket and sent Blair a text.

_Won't make lunch. Going to catch Dan's graduation at 2, then be Columbia a little after 4. We can talk at dinner this evening. Love you! XOXO, S._

When she was done, she hailed the first cab she saw.

"Where to, Miss?"

"Williamsburg," said Serena. "And step on it."

_**Nate**_

The first sound that Nate heard as he entered the Bass penthouse was Blair's voice. As Nate stepped off the elevator, followed by Vanessa, he saw that everyone was assembled in the foyer, drinks in hand, except for the fellow graduate and his best friend.

"I can't believe she stood me up _on my graduation day!"_ she said, bursting into the room at a furious speed. Although Blair was getting better at her outbursts in the general public eye (a remnant of her time with Louis), among her family and friends, she was still the same Blair as always.

She looked beautiful, Nate thought. Her sleeveless, silk wrap dress featured a print that incorporated white, light blue, and royal blue, and showed off the fact that she had curves in all the right places... he had never noticed how _curvy_ she was before. Her hair was down, not up as usual (Nate figured it was because of the caps they'd have to wear with their graduation gowns). And her makeup was flawless.

_Just like a doll, _Nate reflected. Even in the midst of Blair being Blair, Nate remembered the soft spot he held for his first love and longtime friend. His best friend was a lucky man.

"Who stood you up, Blair?" asked Cyrus. He'd been married to Eleanor for five years, but he had yet to learn to wait out a Blair explosion. It wasn't as if she'd leave them in the dark for long, Nate thought with some amusement (and more than a little nervousness).

"Who stood me up, Cyrus? Try my best friend since infancy, my sister-in-law, my _family! _I can't believe that Serena's doing this! How selfish can she be? How could she choose _him _over me? Again?"

You could have heard a pin drop. Eleanor spoke first.

"Technically, darling, it wasn't that long ago that you chose _him _over her..."

"Mother, that's not the point! The point is that we've known each other since we were four! Since preschool, it's been me, Serena, Nate, and Chuck! This was supposed to be a day for all of us, and instead she's going to _his _graduation at that glorified community college where I was _tortured_ for an entire year! How could she do this to me? How could she be so _childish?_"

The last question she demanded of everyone in the room, looking at each of them in turn. When she saw Vanessa, her eyes narrowed.

"Nate, what is _she _doing here?"

Nate thought Blair had quite a bit of nerve. Considering Blair's actions before she reunited with Chuck, he didn't think she had any room to judge. They had all done stupid things to and with each other over the years. Besides, Blair knew full well that he and Vanessa were seeing each other. Vanessa had been to the Bass penthouse several times before... and it was Nate's graduation day, too.

"She's my plus one, Blair. And if you have a problem with it, we can both leave."

Blair stared at Vanessa for a minute, then shook her head.

"Whatever, Nate. Don't be such a drama queen. No one's leaving." She turned to Vanessa. "You might as well stay, Abrams. We even have a place for you since that selfish brat who calls herself _my sister _can't even be bothered to show up on one of the most important days of my life..."

Just as her eyes started to fill with tears, and threatened to spill over, the cavalry arrived.

"Blair," said Chuck, walking into the room.

He looked past her at their assembled guests, who mostly looked uncomfortable.

"My wife and I will be back in a moment... Ricardo, why don't you and your staff make sure everyone's drinks are freshened up? Excuse us."

Taking Blair by the hand, he led her out of the room. Nate was grateful for his best friend. Even before there was BlairandChuck, ChuckandBlair, there would be times when Chuck would say just the right thing to stop a Blair Waldorf meltdown (Nate would usually stand there and gape at her bewildered, while Serena would try to say just the right thing to her, and fail).

So Chuck would say something snarky or smarmy to her, and Blair would transfer the rage she was going to take out on herself, the world, or some hapless minion onto him instead. (Chuck never seemed to mind.)

"Still the drama queen, isn't she?" said Vanessa.

Nate shrugged. "It's graduation. Everything's a little crazy today. You know Blair."

"Not as well as you do. She's your friend, remember?"

He eyed her. That was the one thing that always messed up things between him and Vanessa. She could be such a _bitch_. And not a lovable bitch like Blair, either.

"Yeah, I remember. Excuse me, I'll go get something to drink for us."

He went to the bar, and ordered two beers for himself and Vanessa. He also said hello to his parents, who were beaming at him.

"We're all so proud of you, Nathaniel," said Anne. "You've come so far over the past few years."

"Yes," said the Captain, clearly pleased to be back in Anne's company, although they were no longer living as husband and wife. "You've made your old dad pretty happy today, Nate, even if it isn't Dartmouth."

"You're never going to let that go, are you?" said Nate. "Not even today."

"Well, we're rivals now in a way, aren't we? You're rooting for Columbia blue, while my heart's still in New Hampshire..."

"Rivals? Dad, that's the problem. I'm not your buddy, I'm your son."

"Nate, c'mon... I didn't mean anything by it!"

He took two steps away before he heard his mother's patrician voice.

"It's that Abrams girl, isn't it?"

Nate turned back around to face his mother.

"No, it's me. And I already know that you're not going to accept any girl who's not like Blair in my life, so what you have to say about my love life doesn't matter."

"Oh, it will matter, Nathaniel," said Anne, lowering her voice. "Anyway, judging from her outburst just now, and all the other scenes we've witnessed over the years, I've decided that Blair is no great loss. Charles is welcome to have her."

"Because she's just yours to give, isn't she? In case you haven't noticed, Mother, the world is _changing. _It may have been a big deal when you were growing up that your name was Anne Rothschild Vanderbilt, but today, people respect those who make their own way in the world... at least the kind of people I care about."

Before Anne could say anything else, Blair came back into the great room, followed closely by Chuck.

"Please accept my apologies for any unpleasantness earlier, everyone. It's an emotional day, and I know that my family and close friends understand."

Harold Waldorf came over to hug and kiss his daughter.

"We all know our Blair. And we love you."

And just like that, everything was all right again. For the time being, at least.

Why couldn't his parents be more like that? Nate wondered. Sure, Eleanor had been terrible when they were growing up, but age and Cyrus had mellowed her quite a bit. Blair's dad had always been great, and they'd all grown used to Roman, who was a pretty cool guy.

Then you had the new, improved Bart, back from the dead, who had taken Chuck under his wing and thought Blair walked on water...

Nate's spiraling thoughts came to an end when he saw that Chuck had retrieved his wife from her father, and was beckoning them all toward the dining room.

"Blair and I are pleased that you've all come to celebrate with us. Lunch is served."

_**Dan**_

"Dan, we're here... oh!" Serena smiled at him at their cab pulled up in front of Yankee Stadium, squeezing his hand more tightly. "You're graduating! Aren't you excited?"

Dan looked at Serena, mustering up a smile. He'd have several dream girls since her, but Serena van der Woodsen had been his first. First muse, first love, first girlfriend, first lover, first _everything._ Whenever you were around her at her best, you couldn't help but feel that everything would be okay. Serena gave that to him.

Serena was just about everything that Dan could want in a girl. She was certainly, even now, the best sex he'd ever had. Even now, the memory of their lovemaking the night before almost caused him to stir. She was beautiful and smart, funny and fun to hang out with, and... did he mention that she was _fantastic_ in bed? If sex were all that a relationship was about, his choice would be clear.

What Dan had realized during his time with Blair was that he hadn't loved Serena the way she deserved to be loved. Sure, he was attracted to her, and always would be. But while Blair had been too dark, Serena was too light. Dan wanted a girl who was neither sun nor moon, neither midnight nor noon, but _twilight. _A shade of gray.

Could Serena be gray enough for him?

Dan, after Blair, realized that he had a serious problem. The critical lens that made him a prodigy among young writers had killed all of his relationships. Sometimes, Dan thought he liked the _idea _of having a girlfriend more than actually having her.

That's why he always ended up dissatisfied with all of his ex-girlfriends. Dan used to think he kept choosing the wrong girls...

But before all those girls, there had been Serena. Frankly, she just hadn't been deep or serious enough for his tastes, he reflected. She, like Dan, was excellent at English, which is why she was drawn to Miss Carr as a mentor. Serena secretly loved to read, and was a fantastic writer. (Dan thought that she had a better handle on exposition than Vanessa did, for instance... for all her flightiness, she really _could _tell a good story.)

But Serena often found Dan's sarcasm hurtful instead of hilarious. She always thought he was being too hard on people. She sometimes didn't understand Dan's moods, either. Why couldn't she understand that writers needed solitude and space? Serena, as much as she enjoyed a great party, also enjoyed sitting quietly on the sidelines and observing a scene. The problem was that she was so beautiful that most of the time, people were observing _her..._

Dan's arms wound around Serena's shoulders, hand curling through the silk of her hair. He felt a surge of... what? He didn't know what it was, but his ex-girlfriend, _stepsister_, friend... this girl just...

She looked up at him, blue eyes twinkling.

"Dan, what is it?" she asked. "Everything okay? Are you nervous?"

All of a sudden, Dan felt overwhelmed by warmth. _This _was why he could never completely let Serena go, even when he was angriest at her, even when he thought he should aspire to someone else... even though their parents' decades-long love meant that really, they should have been siblings, and nothing more. Was that why he'd always felt so connected to her?

Why wasn't any other girl out there who could get under his skin in the same way as Serena van der Woodsen?

His lips brushed hers gently.

"Nah, just thinking. You know I'm in my head a lot."

"Hope it's all good things. I'm so proud of you, Dan."

"Thank you," he said, kissing her again, a little longer this time. Pulling her closer. Thinking about how much he'd enjoy being with her again tonight, after this dinner thing she'd been planning...

"I just wish... you know, so much has happened until... it's just funny how things come full circle, right?"

Dan frowned. "Serena, what's going on?"

She hesitated. "Nothing."

Another thing that came between he and Serena was the fact that she wasn't always honest with him. Like all Upper East Side girls, lies came to her as easily as the truth did. She always tried to justify or explain herself away, but it annoyed him so much. Dan prided himself on being an upstanding guy with lots of integrity. He had high standards for himself and expected the best out of people. When they fell short, he couldn't help but be disappointed.

Now, Blair Waldorf was a born liar if he ever met one. The most tragic thing about _her, _Dan reflected, was that she lied to herself. Yet Blair had understood the gray, melancholy side of him. While Serena always wanted to look on the bright side of things, Blair knew that all bright things had an ugly underbelly. There were shades of gray in Blair that made him fascinated by her. Then infatuated with her.

While he'd anchored the buoyant Serena, he was the one to make life simple for Blair. He thought he could change her, show her a less superficial way of life. Yet it didn't take long before Blair was _bored _with him.

Dan didn't like thinking about the last weeks of their relationship, when Chuck had sucked her back into his family drama, and she had less time for him.

"He needs me," Blair had told Dan, towards the end. "Chuck has nothing to do with what I feel about you, Dan. I chose _you, _not Chuck. I've told him that it's over between us."

"No, Blair. You choose Chuck every time he calls and you run. You choose him every time you _hide _the fact that he's still calling you from me."

He should have known. How daring and delusional he had been, to think that he'd be able to somehow sever the otherworldly bond between Blair Waldorf and Chuck Bass (and excise Serena van der Woodsen from his brain). What began as simply _observing _his classmates during senior year, like Shapiro advised, had just spiraled into... something.

First, he began writing about Charlie Trout, Chuck being his second-ever character study (Serena was the first). What fascinated Dan the most about Chuck wasn't just his hedonism, the tragedy of his mother dying in childbirth, or his strained relationship with his father (who Dan actually grew to like and respect, in spite of the fact that he was only shadowing him to dig up the dirt).

No. What fascinated Dan the most about Chuck was Blair.

Despite what everyone believed after reading _Inside, _Dan hadn't wanted Blair from the beginning. No, quite the contrary. He definitely thought she was a package of girly evil in the beginning, a piece of work. Before she was the Queen Bee of Constance, she was the terror that guarded Serena from the intrigues of any jealous girls in the class. Then, after Serena's yearlong disappearance sophomore year(during which Dan, who had no information about it at the time, thought she was a figment of his overactive imagination), Blair had notoriously toppled the former queen.

(Dan wasn't in that crowd back then, so he never heard the whole story, but he'd heard that Blair's coup d'état may have involved a certain incident with Chuck Bass, said former queen, an absinthe spoon, a bong, a circus performer, a body builder, a gymnast, a tub filled with Jell-O, and a video camera. Of course, since he wasn't anyone who mattered back then, and even Gossip Girl couldn't get all the details, Dan never learned the truth. Even when they dated several years later, Blair refused to talk to him about it, simply saying "That was so many years ago..." and smiling secretly to herself. But a modified version of the rumors made it into _Inside._)

It was during their first year together at NYU that Dan first began to notice Blair's vulnerabilities. She was badly out of place there, and while Dan's confidence was being built, Blair's was being shaken. They were far from close friends, but they had shared their freshman year together. Blair had acted in Dan's play. But then he was furious with her when she punished Jenny for what _Chuck _did to his sister. He was glad about the payback he'd enacted on her twentieth birthday. After feeling a little badly about it because of Rufus' words, he did feel a sense of satisfaction.

Dan hadn't wanted the internship at _W_ at first, but it gave him the chance to work closely with Blair. She was the anti-Serena. Serena floated through life like a feather on the wind, never planning, taking things as they came. Where her best friend was cool, Blair was hotly passionate about _everything, _especially her internship, her schoolwork, and her social status. She was smart, quick witted, and had quite the wicked tongue.

He'd been writing the Clair character for over a year. But soon, the affair between Clair and Dylan made its way into his story... and the leading lady in his sexual fantasies was no longer a slender, leggy blonde. Not at all.

His fantasy had morphed into a chocolate eyed, _hot _package of girly evil.

Dan just knew Blair would be great in bed. After all, there had to be some reason why notorious womanizer Chuck Bass kept chasing after her. Then she'd snagged a prince, who was willing to give up an entire kingdom on her behalf. Before that there had been Nate, and some Lord... what was it about Blair Waldorf that made men who could have any woman they wanted go all slack-jawed over her? And how had _he, _practical Dan Humphrey, joined their ranks? When he finished _Inside _and re-read it, he decided to put it away because it was such a clear giveaway about how his feelings had changed.

Dan's erotic fantasies went wild as their friendship grew during the second half of 2011, even after Vanessa published the book and his thing for Blair became not so secret. After the initial angst, he ended up being glad. Glad that Serena hated the Sabrina character after the hell she'd put him through. Glad that everyone else had been put into their rightful places. And glad, even though she was going to be Louis' wife and a princess, that Blair knew how much he wanted her.

He couldn't believe how the events before and after Blair's failed wedding to Prince Louis Grimaldi had unfolded. He just knew she'd be going straight back to Chuck Bass after that. But she didn't! She turned to Dan, and Dan was there. Then Blair kissed him. _She told him she wanted to be with him. _She chose him, Dan, over both Chuck _and _Serena.

It was such an incredible turn-on that the girl who everyone wanted, wanted him and only him. Dan was prepared to have the best sex of his entire life with Blair Waldorf. During those heady late winter and early spring weeks last year, Dan had been so sure that Blair was his soulmate. They were such compatible friends after all their years of hate... he just _knew _that the sex...

...would be terrible?

Their first time was a bust, and the next few resulted in incredible hangovers. Dan didn't get it. He _knew _that Blair wasn't driving all these powerful men crazy with her lack of bedroom prowess, so what was wrong with her? She wanted to add all this stuff that was beside the point to the bedroom: endless lingerie (why would she waste money and time on that stuff, when "birthday suit" was free, easy, and preferable?), toys (he was a man and she was a woman, what other equipment did they need?), and dress-up stuff that none of his other girlfriends had wanted to do (role-playing made him feel silly, and Blair had learned that as quickly as Vanessa had).

And she was _way _more aggressive than he liked in a girl. Even now, more than a year after they'd last had sex, Dan felt annoyed when he remembered the way she'd _scratched _him...

Nonetheless, Dan was willing to give things a chance. After all, it wasn't her fault that a certain Bass had ruined Blair for the kind of sex that normal people had. Chuck was so twisted until Dan was sure he'd degraded her in the bedroom as much as he had outside of it. Blair would grow used to a healthier kind of sex, Dan figured. She seemed to want to be with him in spite of the fact things weren't exactly sizzling between the sheets.

When Dan chose to take the opportunity in Rome, he thought that his last conversation with Blair left room for them to perhaps try again whenever he came back to New York. She didn't look too pleased when Dan suggested they take a break.

(Dan felt a small surge of pride, remembering... perhaps he was a late bloomer, but to date, none of his girlfriends had ever broken up with _him. _Either it was mutual, or he was the one initiating. That said something about his value and worth as a boyfriend, didn't it?)

Dan was watching CNN World one night in his apartment near the Spanish Steps when he saw the announcement.

_In other world news, the former Princess of Monaco has tied the knot again less than four months after her well-publicized divorce from Prince Louis Grimaldi. According to the New York Times, American fashion heiress Blair Waldorf married Manhattan-based international real estate wunderkind Charles "Chuck" Bass in a civil ceremony yesterday afternoon at City Hall. Chuck is the only son of Bart Bass, CEO of Bass Industries, whose cooperation and involvement as the star witness of a criminal probe led to him falsifying his death for over three years and entering the federal Witness Protection Program. Since his return, Bart..._

Dan had been devastated. He had been surprised by his reaction. Thinking it would be a great time to visit his sister in London, he went and crashed with Jenny for a long weekend.

Jen was great. She didn't ask any questions or want many details. She'd come a long way from the girl she'd been at Constance... Hudson had been good for her. (Maybe it would have been good for him? But without St. Jude's, there would not have been an _Inside... _or the stint in Rome, either.)

After Dan returned to Rome, whenever he was alone, he brooded. He went from sad to _angry. _Blair told him she had a good reason for running around with Chuck, Nate (who Dan thought was his _friend), _and Serena (who, after years of loving, he just wasn't sure about at the time). Dan supposed that Bart's return was that reason. Of course, Bart's return would change everything. Of course, after the initial shock, it would change Chuck. Dan still remembered the way Chuck had barred him from attending his funeral, the nasty things he'd said about Rufus. (If Chuck's father hadn't just died, Dan would have given him yet another black eye.)

Even almost a year later, Dan didn't understand why Blair married Chuck. This was the man who'd traded her body to his _uncle_ for a _hotel_. This was a man whose drunken rages led him to say all kinds of horrible things to her, and then punch a glass wall right next to her. (Dan was enraged when he heard about it later... what if Blair had lost an eye because of what he did?) This was a man, who had once been a boy that sent out slanderous pictures and texts about Blair when she chose Nate over him.

All these years later, Dan _still _didn't like Chuck. He hadn't had a direct conversation with him or Blair since the late August night he'd gathered his courage and faced them at Victrola.

Dan believed that Blair had acted in haste by marrying Chuck, just as she had when saying that she'd be Louis Grimaldi's bride after she'd only known him a few weeks. (_Trading the royal prince for a billionaire? Really classy, Blair._) It was ridiculous for anyone to marry when they were just 21 years old. Dan certainly didn't plan to get married until he was in his later 20s, or perhaps even after that.

They had their whole lives ahead of them!

Which is what this day - college graduation - symbolized. Ironic, Dan reflected, that Blair would have her B.S. degree by day's end, while her _husband_ was just full of B.S. (Dan grinned to himself at the pun.)

As he got out of the cab, then helped Serena out, he thought about the Columbia graduation ceremonies that would begin long before theirs ended. If he were still with Blair, how would they have managed? Dan, ever the writer, imagined running across the platform, then he and Blair having a wild cab ride together, speeding over the 145th Street Bridge, racing toward the quadrangle in Morningside Heights where her ceremonies would be held. With her in her pale Columbia blue regalia, him in NYU purple...

_What a great story idea, _he thought. _Maybe it's time for a sequel to _Inside_. Dylan and Clair, two college grads from two different New York schools, running wild on the first day of the rest of their lives..._

_...with Charlie Trout as worm food. Even dust by now._

The warm breeze wafting across his face brought him back to reality. Blair had never been willing to run wild when she was with Dan, not unless she was drunk out of her mind, or needing his help for one of her crazy schemes. She was proper and prim, intellectual and critical, domineering and terrible... and once in a while, the sweetest thing he'd ever dated. But wild? Never.

Now Serena... Serena was _wild_. Serena was up for anything.

Serena would _do _it.

"Hey, Serena?"

She glowed at him, reaching up to straighten his cap.

"I'm right here."

"Want to bust me out of here once the liberal arts majors are done walking?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, we've got to go over there..." he indicated the players' entrance, "and I think we're supposed to stay for the rest of the ceremony. But you know, I think I'll kinda be over it. Do you think you can get me out of there and past security? So we can crash the Columbia graduation?"

Serena looked up at him mischievously.

"Thought you had something really difficult for me to do, Dan! That's easy. Just text me when you're ready."

He pulled her flush to him, and all the blood in his brain rushed down as she melted next to him.

_Wow_, she turned him on... all these years later, after all this time. Last year, he'd really thought the spark between them was gone for good. But ever since that night at Victrola, it had come roaring back with a vengeance.

She was upset when he left and returned to Rome for fall semester, froze him out at Christmas... and then ended up in bed with him in some random suite at the Empire on New Year's Eve. They'd been tumbling between the sheets ever since, not naming what they were, not wanting to label it, but _really _enjoying every second of it.

Tonight, after this dinner thing she insisted on them going to, neither of them would be getting any sleep.

Again.

To her credit (at least, Dan thought), Serena didn't suspect anything about his train of thought. She didn't know, wouldn't understand that he needed to have one last conversation with Blair, even if she was calling herself Mrs. Bass these days. After all, Blair's new _husband _hadn't respected their relationship enough not to have private conversations with her when she was Dan's_ girlfriend. _

It wasn't that Dan wanted Blair back. But why shouldn't he get some closure? Didn't he deserve that much? Didn't she owe him some explanations? Shouldn't she tell him the real reason why she chickened out on everything _they _had together... and ran back to Chuck?

Would it mess up things between Serena and Blair if he talked to Blair today? Dan looked down at Serena, real, fragrant, and sexy as _fuck_ in his arms, feeling a slight twinge of guilt.

But only a twinge.

"I mean, as long as you're OK with ditching the purple parade and heading to your school, that is..." Serena was still technically a student at Columbia, but still only had sophomore standing. Dan wondered if she'd ever finish.

"Of course we can go to Columbia, Dan! I want to be there for Blair, and you want to be there for Nate. I was going to head up there once your graduation was over, but this is even better! Much more fun." Serena kissed him one last time, then pulled her cell phone out. "Let me find a getaway car for us. See you soon."

Dan watched her go, tamping down the slight resentment he still occasionally felt at what he thought was her entitlement. _Of course you'll just call for a town car at the last minute, you're Serena van der Woodsen! _He knew he was being ridiculous; between Lily's generous high school and college graduation gifts and his own earnings from his two novels, Dan could have easily afforded a town car.

But it was the _principle _of the matter. At least he, Dan, was _thoughtful_ about having money. Serena could be so _thoughtless _sometimes! If she would just...

He shook himself out of it. Maybe his father was right. Maybe he was looking for a girl who didn't exist. A perfect girl. _His_ perfect girl.

His eyes continued to appraise Serena van der Woodsen. He noticed that he wasn't the only male in the vicinity looking either. (All right, their eyes were nearly popping out of their heads.) Her gorgeous hair and face, perfect hourglass figure, and slender legs poured into a barely-there summer dress made her the perfect male fantasy...

Well, if she wasn't entirely perfect, she came pretty damned close.

And maybe, just maybe, that would be enough.

_**Vanessa**_

Despite Blair's outburst, lunch was served, and enjoyed as if nothing untoward had ever happened. Vanessa marveled at the ability of rich people to pretend that certain individuals weren't psychotic, just because of the amount of money they happened to have.

The amount of money that the Basses had was _obscene, _Vanessa decided. She had her own differences with her parents, but her mother would have rightfully had a fit if she saw the kind of digs that Chuck and Blair were living in these days. Their penthouse was twice the size of the one that Rufus and Lily lived in, and after the disastrous Thanksgiving they'd all spent together, Gabriela Abrams had spent _days _going on and on about the obscenity of it all.

"Just think, even a small portion of all that Bass wealth Lily's inherited could eliminate poverty and hunger in several small tropical countries," her mother had insisted. "I'm so disappointed in Rufus. I thought he had better principles."

Bart, Vanessa always suspected from what she'd heard over the years, was positively frugal compared to his son. Nate had told Vanessa that Chuck's trust fund was more than the rest of his close friends' combined, back when they were dating in high school. Then she remembered hearing shortly before Bart re-emerged that Chuck's personal worth was estimated at two and a half _billion _dollars, double what he'd inherited. Even though she thought she understood how compound interest worked (she'd taken Intro to Econ at NYU), Vanessa couldn't even conceive of that much money.

Their hosts had disappeared after lunch, but the guests were all having dessert and coffee on the terrace, enjoying the warm, sunshiny May weather. Blair's dads were laughing over some story that the Captain was telling near the outdoor bar, while Eleanor and Anne commiserated privately in low tones at a table nearby.

Vanessa sat with Nate, Eric, and Alec, trying to look as pleasant as she could but totally _bored_ with the conversation. Alec was one of Eric van der Woodsen's typical boyfriends: pretty, earnest, and _dull_. He, like Nate, was obviously really into sports, and they went on and on about the NBA playoffs, which Vanessa could have cared less about. Rich pretty boys could be so _boring_ at times_..._

Maybe, Vanessa thought, maybe she should have worked on a story like Dan's _Inside. _Only, she wouldn't write it from the point of view of some Brooklyn dipshit who wanted in... how the hell could you be critical of these people from the "inside?" No, you had to be on the outside, maintaining distance from the people you were writing about. That was how it worked.

Never mind that the man whose arm was resting on her bare shoulders, visible above her boho strapless sundress, was the scion of three families that everyone in America knew about, and had for generations. Never mind that Vanessa had spent the better part of the past month screwing that blue blood man's brains out every chance she could. Never mind that she was actually living in a hotel owned by Bass Industries, eating two and sometimes three meals a day there, comped to the penthouse suite.

No, Vanessa _refused_ to believe that she was a hypocrite. In fact, fellow members of the 99% ought to applaud her! She was getting a little bit back for the little people... a little bit back that these people _took._

_Stole._

"Can I get you something else to drink?" Nate was asking her.

Vanessa shook her head, then kissed him quickly. His lips tasted like torte, strawberries, and Nate. Her favorite flavors.

"No, I'm actually going to use the powder room to freshen up before we head across town. Be right back."

Eric looked past her, towards the open double doors. "Do you know where it is?"

"I've been here a few times with Nate. I'm sure I'll find it."

Nate scrambled to his feet, and pulled out her cushioned wicker patio chair away from the table. Vanessa stood on her espadrilles (purchased from a independent artisan near her parents' home in Vermont for just ten dollars, thank you very much) and made her way inside.

Several workers were clearing away the last bits of their lunch, sweeping although there was nothing visible to be swept, dusting although Vanessa was sure there wasn't a single speck of dust in the entire penthouse. She smiled at the workers in solidarity, but they mostly didn't notice. The one who did stopped in mid-sweep.

"Can I get you something, Miss?" The man's voice was accented, but Vanessa couldn't tell where he might have been from.

"No, thank you." She lowered her voice. "You're working so hard. I hope the Bass family pays you a living wage."

The cleaner gave Vanessa a look she didn't like. It was almost as if he was trying not to laugh in her face.

"Lady, the Bass family is the best in New York City to work for. Bart Bass got me my green card, his wages sent my two kids to City College, and now his son and daughter-in-law are padding my retirement. You're not going to get _me _to say a bad word about them."

"Of course not. That's why unions are important. This way, people like the Basses wouldn't get away with intimidating you."

The worker rolled his eyes, and then continued sweeping.

"Lady, I got work to do. If you don't mind."

"Don't mind at all," said Vanessa, convinced there was a story to be told here. The Bass family, exploiting their domestic workers so badly that they couldn't stop to have a conversation with someone who was just like them. Someone who cared about their plight.

She made her way down the hall, looking for the ladies' room. Lit crevices in the walls displayed beautiful artwork and antiques that Vanessa thought looked suitable for a museum. The entire design of the place was both contemporary and timeless in a way that could have clashed badly, but somehow worked. Even Vanessa had to admit that.

What they could have done was label their doors, however. They all looked the same...

"...I just don't understand why you couldn't have waited, Chuck. This evening at dinner would have been time enough to tell him."

"He was so excited about Yale, beautiful. I didn't want to get his hopes up, only to dash them tonight."

The door was cracked open. Vanessa, who just registered that neither of their hosts had made it to the terrace, was prepared to see something pornographic... Chuck and Blair's reputations preceded them... but in spite of herself, she still peeked anyway.

They were both fully dressed. Thank God. They were sitting on a leather sofa inside of what Vanessa assumed was their home library. Chuck's arms were around Blair, who was curled up comfortably next to him.

(Vanessa _did _notice that Blair was wearing a different dress than she'd had on earlier.)

"Still, Chuck," Blair was saying, "you should have told Bart _something, anything _to throw him off the scent..."

"I should have had you there with me. That's the only thing. Blair, we need to tell our parents tonight. Dad pointed out that the legal team needed to be made aware about this so that his first grandchild is well provided for..."

"I hate this world sometimes," said Blair. "Our baby is not going to be a business deal, Chuck."

Vanessa's eyes widened. _So the devils are spawning. Great. Just great._

"He or she won't be..."

"He. I've told you it's a boy, I know he is."

"He won't be. Blair, our marriage isn't a business deal, either. Only our personal lawyer knows the situation with our prenup..."

"Chuck, we don't _have _a prenup. Even after everything that happened in my first marriage with the dowry, I still thought we should have one, because everyone does. You refused."

Vanessa's mouth dropped open. No prenup? This was _huge. _

"Of course I refused."

"If Bart knew..."

"We've never discussed it, but I'm sure he knows. He and my mother didn't have one, either." He kissed her, very gently. "Prenups are for people who know they'll be getting divorced eventually. When a Bass marries, it's for life. So it seems that a divorce is not on the menu for us, Mrs. Bass."

"Especially now that you've gotten me knocked up," she smiled. "So Bart is already setting up our kid's trust fund, huh? A kid who won't put in his appearance for another five months? Why not a bassinet instead?"

"Blair..."

"No, seriously, Chuck. Aren't grandparents supposed to buy things like that? Of course, Daddy and Roman, and Mom and Cyrus will be competing to see who can build the best nursery in France the second we tell them our news. Why can't we get Bart to lighten up a little?"

"Come on, Blair. You've known my father your whole life. You know that Bart Bass thinks that nothing says 'I love you' better than blue-chip stocks."

"All I want for Christmas is a bull market! It's the Bass way," she quipped. He chuckled, but she sighed. "No one really understands what we have, Chuck, do they? If only people knew how much our baby means to us..."

"Or how his mother will soon have three generations of Bass men wrapped around her dainty little finger."

At the sight of how tenderly Chuck kissed Blair's hand, then each finger, and the look that he gave her, Vanessa blushed. It was such an intimate, tender gesture. She never would have believed it if she hadn't seen it with her own eyes.

So it wasn't just about sex and power. Chuck and Blair really _did _love each other.

"Vanessa?"

Chuck looked up first, through the half-open door, meeting her eyes in a basilisk's deadly gaze. Blair looked at him, then in the same direction.

Her luminous brown eyes narrowed. And the entire expression on Blair's face changed from a sweet young wife, vulnerable in her husband's embrace, to the young Queen of Manhattan.

"Well, well, _well,_" Blair said, voice cold as ice. "What _have _we here?"

"Apparently, Abrams likes to watch," Chuck said. "But then, that's something we already knew about girls like her. The question is, what are we going to do about it?"

"Chuck, Blair."

Vanessa didn't even need to look. She knew who had caught and exposed her shameless eavesdropping, knew exactly who was walking up behind her.

"Don't worry, you two," said Nate, clamping his hands on Vanessa's shoulders, not exactly gently. "I'll take care of _this_. Right now."

_**Jenny**_

Even though Dan wouldn't admit it over breakfast, Jenny continued to think that the Upper East Side, already super weird when she was a teenager, had gotten even weirder during her time away.

Running into Nate and Vanessa had been a case in point_. _Jenny knew that everyone still thought of her as an immature child. While that fact annoyed her to no end as a teenager, as an adult, she didn't mind. It worked to her advantage.

People wouldn't see her coming.

Nate Archibald certainly hadn't. "Jenny Humphrey?"

Jenny's face stayed cool and collected. But for the first time in a very long time, her heart leaped as he appraised her. Jenny knew that she looked great. She would never have Serena's shape, but she knew what looked best on her. She'd finished her teenage rocker goth Barbie phase long ago, so her short, platinum hair was curled softly, and she'd chosen to wear the small black diamond studs that Lily had gifted her with on her eighteenth birthday. She'd accented her blue eyes to make them look even more luminous, and the shade on her lips matched what she was wearing.

The magenta dress she was wearing was her own design, and it was tasteful and appropriate for a graduation... yet, slightly edgy with a carwash hem, jet-black piping and studs detailing. On her small feet were cutout, peeptoe Gucci boots with a perfect pedicure.

Jenny knew full well that she looked as if she'd just stepped out of the pages of _Vogue. _In contrast, Vanessa looked as if she were going to the farmer's market. Judging from Nate's expensive suit (complete with pale blue tie) they were dressed for commencement.

"Nate Archibald," she'd said. "And... Vanessa Abrams."

Vanessa's grip visibly tightened on Nate's arm. "We heard you were back in town."

"Only for the weekend," said Jenny nonchalantly. "My flight's on Monday morning."

Nate was still looking at her. Jenny willed herself _not _to blush. She was not a teenager any longer, and she'd kept up with some of his news. Nathaniel Archibald was the biggest manwhore on the Upper East Side, and his body count had only increased during her time away.

"You look great, Jenny," he said finally.

"Thanks. So do you. Both of you."

Her eyes flickered over to Vanessa, who was regarding her as if she wanted her to drop dead. Shame, Jenny thought, because V used to look at her as a kid sister type, not as a romantic rival.

"Yeah. Listen," Nate continued, "we're heading to Chuck and Blair's for lunch before we head to Columbia. I hear you're coming to the dinner tonight, so I'm sure you'd be more than welcome to join us. That is, if you don't have anything up right now."

"Actually, I'm heading in from a walk. I'm meeting Mom, Dad and Lily in about ten minutes, so I'm already running late. But good luck today. And congratulations, Nate... Vanessa, you too."

"Oh, I graduated last semester," she said, a bit testily.

Nate turned to her. Jenny saw the confusion on his face.

"I didn't know you'd finished. You didn't walk, did you?"

Vanessa looked disdainful at that suggestion. "No. My parents wouldn't have come. They didn't want me going to NYU in the first place."

Jenny felt sorry for her. As much trouble as she'd gotten in over the years, she couldn't imagine having parents like Vanessa's.

"That's too bad," she said.

Vanessa glared at her. "I don't care about graduation or any of that stuff. I didn't do high school graduation, prom... it's all remnants of patriarchy and the class system..."

"Oh-_kay," _said Nate. "Jenny, we'd better be going, we're already late for lunch. See you tonight?"

Did she see... was it her imagination, or did Nathaniel Archibald...

...just _wink_ at her?

That was the question that she turned over and over in her mind as she met her parents and stepmother, then rode with them to the ballpark where her older brother would be graduating.

As the program began, Jenny found herself sitting in a row at Yankee Stadium with both of her parents, who were sitting next to each other for the first time since _forever. _They were both dressed casually, her mother in a flowing warm-weather top and jeans (J. Crew, Jenny guessed), her father in a buttoned-down dark purple shirt and slacks (_you're looking smarter than ever, JCPenney!_... no, Target couture... no, Lily probably got him those things from Brooks Brothers). Jenny tried not to be too judgmental; her parents were her parents.

Then there were Lily and Serena. Her stepmother and stepsister. Lily looked as if she were going to a matinee at the symphony or opera. She was wearing a sleeveless, lavender floral wrap dress, designer indeterminate, although it looked like something out of Isaac Mizrahi's spring ready-to-wear collection. _Very good, stepmom! _thought Jenny. Lily usually chose her outfits well, and Jenny would have accessorized her differently (like many UES matrons, Lily loved huge, clunky jewelry to complement her diamonds and pearls, and didn't realize that sometimes, less is more). But overall, she (and her oversized, cat-eye Chloe sunglasses) looked great.

Serena's dress, even Jenny had to admit, was fantastic... and could only be worn by a woman with a catwalk-ready figure like her stepsister's. Jenny sighed as they'd made their way to their seats. She'd seen that Roberto Cavalli short cocktail dress on the runway, and coveted it, but her straight-up-and-down figure would have done nothing for it. Her stepsister looked _fantastic _in that thing.

The problem with Serena was that she knew she looked great, and didn't care, Jenny thought. That was why people found her harder to take sometimes than, say, a Blair. With Blair, you knew that she was super conscious of her looks, and cared very much how people viewed her. But Serena's thrown-together, blonde bombshell, "oh this little thing? I look a mess" air was infuriating.

Or, at least it used to infuriate Jenny. That was how Serena captured so much male attention. It wasn't enough that Dan was so hung up on her; Nate was, too. All Serena had to do usually was look a guy's way, and he'd just follow her.

But... the Serena that Jenny had come home to seemed different, somehow. Much more settled. She wasn't flirting with every guy in the vicinity or reveling in the homage people paid to "it girls." Instead, she'd wrapped a barely-there, open-knit shawl around her arms (which did tone down the dress somewhat), seemed giddy with excitement, and was pointing out to Rufus which of the purple-clad figures was likely Dan.

Jenny wasn't sure how she felt about Dan and Serena's thing. First, Serena was Dan's dream girl, then he was her boyfriend. Then came the revelation that their dad and her mom had a thing. Then they learned it was more than a thing... they were the loves of each other's lives. Then came Scott... and Jenny figured that Serena and Dan would _never _see each other like that again.

But apparently, they had. Jenny had gone to the NYU celebration with Dan, and witnessed how much her brother was _still _not over Serena. They reminded her so much of Chuck and Blair back when she lived here, so tiresome with the back and forth until you wish they'd just figure things out or leave each other alone. Before Serena, and after her, Jenny had always assumed that Dan and Vanessa would end up together. But _that _had been one disastrous relationship... Dan didn't love Vanessa the way that Vanessa loved him.

_Why do they all have to date and sleep with each other? _thought Jenny. _That's why I hated this place. It's not as if there aren't eight million other people in this city. And plenty of other people in the world..._

Serena's iPhone started beeping. She looked down and grinned.

"Hey guys, Dan wants to meet me. See you tonight?"

Rufus frowned. "But graduation's only half over."

"Serena, the speaker hasn't started and they haven't conferred any degrees yet," Lily said. "Surely Dan can't leave."

"Mom, I've got to go. See you later, Rufus, Allison... Jenny..."

"Uh-uh," Jenny said suddenly, surprising even herself. "I'm going with you."

Serena shot her a not-so-nice look. "Jenny, I said Dan wants to meet _me..."_

"Sure. And I have a feeling that your meeting's going to end up at a certain other graduation that's happening today."

"Which you haven't been invited to."

Lily interrupted. "Serena!"

"Mom, Jenny's just trying to cause trouble!"

"Serena, I'm not fifteen anymore!" She turned to appeal to her parents and stepmother. "Eric's there, and I haven't even seen him yet. Besides, maybe I just want to wish Blair and Nate well, okay? I've known them both for a long time."

Rufus turned to Serena. "Sounds reasonable to me. C'mon, you might as well let Dan's kid sister tag along one last time."

"What about you and Allison and Mom?" Serena asked.

"Oh, I want to hear Bill Clinton speak," Lily said. "The nineties were my decade, and he reminds me of better times. Go on, give Blair and Nate our best, and tell them we'll see the at dinner tonight."

So Jenny followed Serena out of the stadium. She could tell that Serena was rather put out with her for forcing her presence on Jenny. Well, that was just too bad.

She wasn't about to get stuck with parents when everyone under 25 who she knew in town was going to be thrown together in one room for the first time in ages.

Jenny Humphrey wouldn't have missed it for the world.

_**Eric **_

Eric and Alec traveled to Columbia in the same town car as the Captain and Anne Archibald. (The Captain tried his best to make conversation, in that awkward way that straight guys who aren't quite comfortable with gays do. Anne, for her part, just _stared _at them.) So he wasn't at all aware that anything was amiss until Chuck's limo pulled up to the curb right behind the cars that carried Blair's parents.

Arthur (carrying two Columbia graduation robes, neatly encased in see-through garment bags) came around to open the door, but it swung open before he could do so. Vanessa, obviously flustered, came exploding out of it like a cannon ball, as if she were about to make a run for it. But Nate was faster. He grabbed her arm and held her still.

"Don't you move... Eric, Alec, here, I need a favor. Don't let her out of your sight..."

"Nate, I can't _believe _you're doing this to me!" Her face was red and puffy, as if she'd been crying. "How could you take their side?"

"Because you told me you were going to the ladies' room. Didn't have to really go, did you? Just had to snoop around... I was so _stupid_ to think you'd changed!"

"Fine, then just let me go!"

"So that you can send a blast to Gossip Girl, an email to Page Six, or a Tweet about what you heard?" scoffed Nate. "No, you're going to stay where one of us can watch you."

Chuck had come out of the limo, wearing a powder blue jacket that was the exact shade of the Columbia graduation robes, and a Yale blue tie (with pale blue stripes that matched the jacket, and a matching pocket square). He reached back in to help Blair to the curb, but for once, his wife wasn't looking at him.

Her eyes were trained on Vanessa.

In her hand, she held a well-worn Sidekick. Somehow, Eric knew that it wasn't Blair's phone.

"You two are pure evil," Vanessa said. "_Give me my phone back!"_

"In due course, Abrams," said Chuck. "Until then, you get to enjoy this momentous occasion right by _my _side. Aren't you lucky?"

"You're a demon," Vanessa shuddered.

"You're a cartoon," said Blair. "Really, Vanessa, no one here is sixteen anymore. I guess it takes some people longer than others to grow up. Sad. I suppose that some people don't know how to behave when they're invited into someone's home."

Chuck pulled Blair to his side to kiss the top of her head.

"I also suppose that some people _really _don't need to use the ladies' room after all. So there's no need for that person to leave my side for any reason during Commencement... although I'd _much_ rather be sitting with my brilliant and _beautiful_ wife."

She leaned up to kiss his cheek. "And I, my formidable and _fashionable_ husband... in due course," she smiled at him. Then, she turned back to Vanessa.

"We're not done here, by any means," Blair said coldly. "But you're not going to ruin my graduation day by your snooping. So yes, I will keep your cell phone, while you keep the invitation that you _accepted_, even if it was under false pretenses."

"She'll be sitting right between me and my father," said Chuck. "I'm sure Bart will be _fascinated _to know all about how much a stranger knows about our private affairs. Yes, I'm sure he'll be quite intrigued."

"Of course he will be," Blair said. "Now, kiss me properly, Bass, so that I can line up for the processional."

Vanessa's eyes darted about as if she were going to run or scream (or both) while Chuck and Blair were distracted, but Nate's eyes dared her to try it.

"Nate, I will _never _forgive you for this."

"I don't care. Because once we finish taking care of you, I'm done. And I mean it this time, Vanessa. You don't belong here. You sit up and judge us and think you're so much better than we are because in your head, we're the bad guys. When we... _I... _never looked at you that way. When Chuck and Blair, after all your history with them, after what you helped do to _Serena _two years ago_, _were willing to accept you because of me. I think you need to figure out who's really in the wrong here."

Meanwhile, Blair broke away from Chuck reluctantly, letting his hand go, then clinging to his fingers before walking away, eyes promising him _everything_ over her shoulder before she turned to the matter at hand.

"Here, little van der Woodsen," she said, using her nickname for her brother-in-law (although he was now taller than her), "keep this for me. I suggest you find a plastic bag from somewhere... I'm going to have to wash my hands."

She handed Eric the Sidekick. Vanessa's eyes darted immediately to it, as if she were calculating how to get it back.

"Oh, would you like your phone back, Vanessa? I'm sorry, I've given it to Eric to hold for you, and..." she looked into her purse, "it seems that I have your battery and SIM card. Oops."

Eric couldn't help it. "Nice," he said, admiring his sister-in-law's work.

"And I appreciate having the approval of family," she told him. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to become an alumna of this great university. Everyone, enjoy the program!"

Eric, having witnessed this entire scene, looked at Alec, feeling a bit afraid that his boyfriend would judge his brother and sister-in-law now that he was seeing them, unmasked.

Instead, Alec emitted a low, admiring whistle.

"I wonder what they did to her in that limo?"

_**Blair**_

Well, it wasn't Yale.

But Columbia University was a worthy institution in its own right.

Blair Waldorf Bass, so conspicuous in all other spheres of her life these days, was just one face in the sea of graduates when the university president conferred all baccalaureate degrees, and instructed the graduates to move their tassels. And there was no Gossip Girl blast to ruin the moment, either.

She'd done it! After everything that happened over the past four years, she had managed to finish her undergraduate education on time.

As she listened to the commencement speaker, Nobel laureate and human rights activist Aung San Suu Kyi (talk about a powerful woman!), Blair couldn't help but reflect upon how different all four of her years in college were. There was that first year at NYU, where she faced social obscurity for the first and only time in her life. Yet it was also the year that she and Chuck were together. Up until Elizabeth Fisher and Jack Bass showed up, although they were both busy and he was dealing with the steep learning curve of learning to run a business, he supported her. Then, even in the middle of all the horrible things that happened between them, Chuck still managed to move her _here... _to Columbia. No, it wasn't Yale, but it was a much better fit than NYU had been.

During sophomore year, there was everything with Juliet, Hamilton House... and Chuck again. Blair had plunged into her studies, trying to decide which major she'd declare. Even then, she was leaning towards law, but she wasn't quite sure if she'd rather explore business or journalism instead. The internship at W helped her realize that journalism was _not _her forte. Especially not fashion magazines.

She still pushed herself, though, taking a full load of classes during the time she worked at W. Although she was fired, she still received class credit for the work she'd done there. By the time she was engaged to Louis, she had junior standing, and only needed fifteen more credits for senior standing, or five classes. Since she hadn't enrolled at all during the 2011-2012 regular academic year, she had to appeal to take her Political Theory and Comparative Politics courses during her honeymoon. Then her senior year overload put her over the top to graduate on time.

Blair's experiences during her brief marriage to Louis cemented her choice of career. Law had always been a path she'd considered. She was the daughter and stepdaughter of attorneys, and many were the times she'd have to advocate for Chuck and Serena whenever they got into trouble (along with the social maneuvering to stay atop the Constance hierarchy). But she _never _wanted to sign another contract after her ordeal with the Grimaldi family...

"I didn't want to believe it at first," Chuck said, not very long after they'd reunited. "Didn't your father or Cyrus read it before you signed it?"

Blair bit her lip. "Um... no."

"Did you have your own attorney look over the prenup?"

"Chuck. You know my dads are attorneys. Why would I hire anyone else?"

"Then _who _read the contract before you signed it?"

"I did."

He'd just _stared_ at her.

"Chuck, I already feel guilty about everything, especially after you paid so much to get me out of it. Do we really have to discuss this?"

"Yes. Blair, I'm not trying to make you feel badly, but we need to discuss it. They took you for a ride."

"Louis loved me in the beginning, Chuck. I'll always believe that. I thought I'd be happy with him. He wasn't you, but I thought it would be enough."

"Believe whatever you want about him, beautiful. But you have to acknowledge that rich Americans have always wanted to be royalty, while Eurotrash royals have always been willing to trade their titles for a slice of the American dream."

"That wasn't Louis. It couldn't have been."

"Then it was Sophie. Louis is such a mama's boy until he'd do anything she said. Did you ever think it strange that he came back for you so suddenly, after such a brief time in Paris together?"

"I thought it was like a fairy tale." Sigh. "Chuck, if I thought Louis set a trap for me, I'd want to die. I feel so ashamed about the entire thing, and I'm so sorry for hurting you."

"Don't say that. You have nothing to be ashamed about, and all I care about is that I've got you back in my life. That doesn't mean that I'm not furious about what the Grimaldis did to you. They'll find that extorting money from a Bass comes with a price."

She didn't say anything, resting her cheek and hand on his chest, inhaling his scent, drinking _him _into her senses, trying to dispel the horror of what she'd almost done. What if there _hadn't _been a way out of the contract? What if Chuck hadn't paid to get her out of it? What if Bart hadn't returned, and they were still caught up in misunderstandings?

What if she were still with Louis... or Dan? What if _her _Chuck had fallen in love with someone else?

The last part sent a chill down her spine, and she shivered. Chuck, thinking she was cold in spite of the fire, stroked the length of her arm with his fingertips, staring at the fireplace, obviously deep in thought.

"Did you take the LSAT?"

"You know I didn't. This hasn't exactly been the most academic year for me, Chuck."

"Of course." Pause. "You can still take it in October. I looked it up. Yale Law applications aren't due until the first of February."

She gasped with delight, then sobered up.

"I can't. I'm too far behind."

"I'll help you study... you _know _I'll make it worth your while," he said, hands trailing to prove his point.

"Mmmm... what was that you always said? 'People like us aren't lawyers, we keep them on retainer.'"

He turned her to face him.

"Well, if you're going to read contracts yourself, and not use the lawyers you've retained, Waldorf," he said, chucking her chin softly, "you might as well understand what you're getting yourself into."

A year after that conversation, Blair was now a Columbia political science graduate, and Yale was holding a place for her in their law school. Her father and Cyrus were bursting with pride. After reconciling themselves to the fact that fashion would only be her hobby, her mother and Roman were bursting with pride, too.

And Blair?

She was just _bursting. _With love and life.

All too soon, the graduation ceremony was over. Blair marched out with the other graduates, pulling out her cell phone. She'd been texting with Chuck throughout the ceremony until the keynote address. When she looked at her phone again, she saw that she had six missed texts from him (one alerting her that Bart had made it, one which actually made her blush shyly, and four that got her so hot and bothered that she had to unzip her regalia and fan herself). There was also one missed text from Serena.

Blair's eyes narrowed as she read it.

_B, I'm here! Waiting for you right outside the robing area. Can't wait to congratulate you! -S_

One of the girls from Hamilton House came rushing up to talk to her, but Blair couldn't even deal with her just then. Muttering a quick "thanks" in response to the girl's well wishes, she stormed through the light blue sea of people and stepped outside.

Of course, Serena was right there, beaming. Blair barely registered the presence of Dan as she went to confront her best friend.

"Congratulations, Blair. Can we talk?" he asked her, holding out a dozen red roses. Blair assumed they were for Serena. She wasn't a huge fan of red roses unless it was holiday appropriate, like Valentine's Day. Even then, she preferred her favorite peonies.

"Sure, but later," she said, feeling distracted, sweeping past him to grab Serena by the arm. "S, I need to talk to you."

"Blair..."

But Blair was on a mission, and didn't have time to deal with Dan Humphrey.

Serena owed her some explanations, and she was going to get them from her.

_**Chuck**_

"You psychotic bastard, I am going to get you and your crazy wife back _if it's the last thing that I do!" _Vanessa screamed as the limo pulled up to the area where the graduates would meet their families.

"And I would have gotten away with it if it hadn't been for you medding kids and that dog!" Chuck quipped dryly. "No, Abrams, you're going to stay put while I retrieve my lady, and then we're all going to dinner. See, _there's_ a good girl."

"Chuck, I have to pee!"

His arms were folded.

"Damn it, I'm going to go all over your seats."

"No need." He reached up to press the intercom. "Arthur?"

"Yes, Mr. Bass?"

"Do you still have that mini bedpan?"

"_What?" _Vanessa said. Chuck just ignored her.

"In the storage compartment, Mr. Bass. Sterilized, wrapped, and sealed."

"Thanks, Arthur. And remember, no one is to leave this limo until I get back."

Chuck switched the intercom off and reached into the compartment in question. The plastic-wrapped bedpan looked like an oversized measuring cup, complete with handle and screw-on lid.

"You're _insane!" _Vanessa screeched.

"Sometimes, the rides do get long," Chuck said, dropping the contraption into Vanessa's lap. "Enjoy. I'll give you some privacy... and Abrams, I know that you were reared by hippies, but _do_ try not to get urine on my seats. I will take that _very _personally, and you don't want me to take anything you do personally. The back of my limo is sacred. As it stands, I'm already going to have to reupholster because of your presence in it."

Before she could recover, Chuck slid out of the limo, straightening the lapels of his light blue jacket with one hand. The other hand held a flat HW jewelry box.

He looked around, and saw his father, Eleanor and Cyrus talking. Chuck had a slight second of fear, but he knew Bart wouldn't say anything to them about the baby.

_Their baby. _The whole thing with nosy Vanessa had ruined the moment. He'd planned to slip his present around Blair's neck on the way to graduation, that _perfect _neck of hers, plying it with kisses before, during, and after he fastened it. Chuck _loved_ giving his wife necklaces. Always had, always would.

He wanted it to be a private moment, but he couldn't wait another minute to see the look on her face when she saw it. This wasn't just any necklace, either. It was significant to both of them, and it would be the beginning of one of those family traditions that were so important to Bart.

Harold came up to Chuck, followed by Roman. Knowing his son-in-law wasn't much for hugs, he clapped him on the back.

"So Charles, Bart tells me you're heading to my alma mater very soon."

Chuck looked over in Bart's direction, quite annoyed. His father's eyes met his own, but they were impassive. (Sometimes, Chuck wished he'd inherited his father's chilly eyes instead of his own fiery, dark ones. The things the man could convey with a single look were positively reptilian, he was so cold.)

"I'm just as surprised as you are, Harold."

"I couldn't be more pleased. I know my Blair-bear will be pleased to have you at Yale with her... and Bart tells me that the president is willing to give you credit for experience?"

Chuck remembered the rest of the letter. He was being offered sophomore standing. Apparently, his time as sole CEO of Bass Industries until Bart's return, and as COO after it, was the equivalent of two full semesters at Yale. It meant that he could graduate during the same semester that Blair finished law school. (Then why didn't they just give him an honorary degree, Chuck wondered? Bart had replied, "Apparently, when you and Blair graduate, _I'm _the one who will be given the honorary degree. Yours will come in time, after your _real _credentials.")

Once in a while, and it wasn't very often, Chuck wished his father would go back to wherever he'd come from. His relationship with Bart was a million times better than it had been before everything happened, but even after telling Chuck how proud he was of him, how much of a man he'd become, it was back to having great expectations of his only son and heir. Nothing would ever be good enough.

The difference was that now, Chuck wasn't a seventeen year old kid. He was a twenty-one year old business executive, philanthropist, husband, and soon would be a father. Contrary to what Bart seemed to believe, this was _not _the end of the Bass father-son conversation about Yale.

"Yes, apparently, that's what is being said. Excuse me, Harold, I'm going to see if I can find my wife."

"That's fine, I want to give my daughter the biggest hug ever. I'm so proud of both of you, Charles."

"Thanks, Harold. That means a lot."

Chuck made his way into the sea of graduates streaming out onto the sidewalk. His heart jumped a couple of times when he thought he saw her. After the third brunette-in-regalia passed by, he laughed to himself. He was still head over heels for Blair, and couldn't wait to see how she reacted to all the surprises he had waiting for her.

It was during this train of thought that he ran into Dan Humphrey, who was standing like an idiot in the midst of the walkway. He looked as out of place as he always did, but in his purple graduation robes, even more so today.

His first impulse was to ignore him. Chuck didn't think he'd ever fully forgive Dan for going after Blair during one of her weakest moments. He still didn't get how or why it happened, and didn't like thinking about it much. He was just glad that it fizzled so soon.

But Chuck decided that he could be generous on today of all days. Stuffing his hands into the pockets of his jacket, he strolled over.

"Humphrey. Congratulations."

"Hey, thanks, Chuck. Means a lot."

"Where's my sister?"

"Off somewhere with Blair."

It was in the way that he said it. Chuck looked down and saw the roses in Dan's hand. His eyes narrowed.

"Those aren't for Serena, are they?"

The two men's eyes locked. For long moments, neither blinked. But Dan Humphrey was never going to win a staring contest with Chuck Bass.

"No," said Dan, looking away.

Chuck fought the urge to wrap his hands around Dan's throat. But none of it showed on his face. Although he would never be as emotionless and impassive as Bart, people didn't tell Chuck that he was his father's son for nothing.

"Surely, Humphrey, you weren't planning to steal my wife away with red roses? She hates them. But then, if you'd bothered to get to know her, you'd already know that."

"Blair owes me an explanation. I never got one. She owes me that much at least."

"Blair owes you _nothing."_

"What we had was real, Chuck."

"All seven weeks of it, on the rebound from the biggest public humiliation of her life. Yes, I'm sure it was."

"And that's why you feel threatened by those seven weeks, even a year later."

"No, I'm not _threatened _by you_, _Humphrey. I never was. Don't flatter yourself."

"You did a pretty good impression of it."

"Then you know me as little as you know Blair. There's a subtle difference between threat and offense. Although, subtlety isn't your strong suit..."

"What?"

"Thank you for proving my point. Humphrey, you _offended _me. I was _offended_ that you made my wife into a two-dimensional character in your book although you didn't even know her. I was far more offended about _that_ than I was over your little Charlie Trout character, who I actually found amusing. I was _offended _that you let her carry on with Louis, that you enabled her God-pact delusions, _that you wrote wedding vows _for a couple you knew had a snowball's chance in hell of ever lasting. Then I was _offended _that after you arranged our meeting and knew that we were finally going to be together, you did everything you could to ruin our chances. You even ruined her wedding _and _disgraced her in the international press when you sent in that video."

"Listen, Chuck, I know you're angry that I dated Blair, but after everything that you've done..."

"I wasn't finished. Then Nate told me that you blamed _Blair _for being bad in bed..."

"Wait, Nate told you that?"

"Yes, Humphrey, just like Nate told _you _that I paid Blair's dowry... he's _blond._ He also told me about how you kept blaming Blair for everything that wasn't going right in your 'relationship,' including the fact that she decided to help me figure out what was going on with my family. And then, in the last conversation you had with her before you ran off to Rome, you left her in tears over the things you said to her."

"Are you done?" said Dan coldly.

"Not quite," said Chuck.

Without another word, he punched Dan squarely in the face.

Chuck shook out his knuckles as Dan crumpled to the ground.

"Now I am. Humphrey, stay the hell away from my wife. And you don't deserve the time of day from my sister, either."

Stepping over Dan, he walked further into the crowd, in search of Blair.

**~to be continued~**

A/N: Poor Brooklyn! They didn't come off too well in this chapter, did they? Don't worry, Dan and Vanessa don't get as much air time in the next section! After spending so much time in their heads, you deserve a break! (And so do I!)

Jenny still rocks, in my opinion. I'm a huge fan of Little J, and wish that she'd gotten the chance to grow up on the TV show. She made some terrible mistakes in the past, but so have all the other characters. I think GG fans would have liked her better if they hadn't ruined her character, because she's such a mini-Blair in temperament... oh, well. I also know that I didn't get to give Eric much of a POV here. Never doubt my love for the "babies of the families," though. They'll be back next time.

We'll also see and hear more from the parents, especially Bart (glad people liked the Chuck/Bart conversations, there will definitely be Blair/Bart scenes later). Also, we have yet to see Blair/Serena post-Dair. The next couple of sections will have more of them.

Of course, there will be much more Chair, other characters' commentary on Chair, and observations about Chair. They're one of those couples that everyone talks about. It's fun writing their scenes and also writing about how others in their orbit see them.

B's best glittery headbands to my betas, **DrGG** and **K**, truly my sisters from another mister when it comes to our perspectives on _Gossip Girl. _Special Gossip Girl blast goes out on behalf of the incomparable **Maryl**, one of my very favorite GG authors and Chair fans, for being so kind to a newbie. Was floored when I saw that she'd read my story!

Favorite Falke stockings and "Lady Godiva, my only friend" to my Chapter 1 reviewers as of the time of Chapter 2's posting: **Jrwilson, Mariana, Xoxo, Arjita, Krazy4Spike, Ladynet, DrGG, sallysally, NoFate2608, Trosev, 24hrscout, maryl, bonafide11, ggchair, bfan, lilyeyi, pty, RoseFlower, olimgossip, SaNaa.91, Kathrynm37, Dede, 88Mary88, moe, Cascia** & **iheartchair**. I'll try to send PMs over the next week for the signed, substantive reviews. I was so overwhelmed by the love I got for my very first chapter... it encouraged me to neglect my work, and update faster!

There are three more sections of the fic to go. "Evening" will feature the surprise party that Blair, Dan, and Nate think is a dinner, and may need to be at least two parts. "Night" will definitely be rated M, and I'll label it as such. And, "Tomorrow" (or something like it) will be the conclusion to the story. As always, all of the characters will get a turn, and either Blair or Chuck will get a second turn in each chapter... I'm thinking next time, it's Chuck's turn... but we'll see.

XOXO, Dr. Holland


	3. Evening, Part 1

**POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE**

**Summary:** One year after the events of Season 5, it's college graduation day for Nate Archibald, Dan Humphrey... and Blair Waldorf Bass. Serena and Chuck are planning a celebration to remember. Everyone's back in town, including Eric, Jenny, and Vanessa. Even in adulthood, the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite are still scandalous! A Chair centric, post-Dair fic. (AU after 5x19, with a few late season 5 spoilers.)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in the Gossip Girl universe, not even (sadly) Chuck or Nate. Major props to Cecily von Ziegesar, the CW, the producers, actors, and crew, and everyone involved with bringing these amazing characters to life.

**Chapter 3 – Evening (Part 1)**

May 2013, after both commencements (NYU and Columbia) are over.

_**Serena**_

_This was getting tiresome, _Serena thought as Blair dragged her through the crowd, then over to a secluded alcove near one of the buildings. On the way to Columbia, Serena had felt like she was on Cloud Nine. Even Dan's weird request to stop at a florist's stand and pick up red roses didn't seem that strange. She'd thought to suggest peonies or some other flower that Blair actually liked, but Serena knew that her brother had likely filled the limo with them or some other over-the-top nonsense.

Besides, Dan said that he knew Blair liked roses. Serena didn't like to think about (or remember) how he likely knew this, so she chose to ignore it.

"These will be from both of us," she'd said, hanging on to Dan's arm happily. In response, he'd kissed her forehead, and she'd just glowed.

Now her happy mood was dampened. Once again, Blair had gotten some strange idea in her head about how Serena was trying to slight her on purpose. The first time this had happened was when they were only seven years old and Serena had gone to see the Nutcracker at Lincoln Center with _Georgina Sparks_. Blair had been _so _angry with Serena because of it until she'd taped Serena's long ponytail to her desk, and Chuck, always her willing accomplice even in those long-ago days, had snipped it off with the teacher's scissors before Nate could stop him.

They were all dragged to the headmistress' office. Parents were called. Serena was hysterical about losing her hair, crying uncontrollably in the arms of Lily (who looked to be at a loss about what to do). Chuck had been totally unrepentant despite Bart's frosty threats, but then, the young Bass heir never cared much about getting into trouble, especially if it was trouble of the Waldorf-plotted variety.

Blair, for her part, had been _incredibly _indignant about everything. Her mother had been in Paris, unable to get away from the atelier, but Harold was there, trying to reason with his young daughter.

"But why would you do something like this, Blair?" he'd asked her. "It's not a nice thing to do, dear."

After many rounds of questioning, they finally got the truth out of her.

"'Cause Serena picked Georgina instead of _me _to go to the ballet!"

Lily sighed and emitted a dry laugh. "So _that's_ what happened. The logic of children never fails to surprise me. Blair, Georgina's mother and I are on the committee for the American Ballet Theatre this year. Our families went together. Eleanor's been out of town so much... I didn't think to invite you along, dear. I'm sorry..."

"Serena's not sorry!" yelled Blair, completely oblivious to the fact that Lily was an adult. "She should have _known _not to go without me!"

From then until now, trust Blair to insist that Serena ought to have the ability to read her mind. And, thought Serena, remembering every day of the eighteen months it had taken for her golden tresses to grow back, there was always hell to pay when she didn't.

Why did Blair always _do_ this? Didn't she realize how much Serena loved her? After all, she'd stayed friends with her even after Blair had used the love of her life as her rebound experiment. What did Blair have to be angry about?

"So," Serena said, back in the present, gleeful mood dampened, "you wanted to talk."

"How dare you miss my graduation, Serena?"

"Blair, I didn't miss it. I heard most of the speech and saw your degree being conferred..."

Blair cut her off. "You missed my graduation luncheon, Serena, a luncheon that I painstakingly planned so that all of our families could celebrate this day together. You didn't even have the decency to call. You just sent a text once the event had started." She leaned forward. "So what is this really all about?"

Long ago, Serena had learned that in order to remain best friends with Blair Waldorf, sometimes the best response was not to say anything at all. When Blair was mad at her, and she didn't know why, often it was best to wait it out. (As Nate observed long ago, "Blair never leaves you in the dark forever, that's for sure. She'll always tell you why she's upset... eventually.")

Serena waited.

"Are you jealous because I graduated and you didn't? Or is this payback for everything that happened last year with Dan?"

Was that it? _Seriously?_

Serena threw up her hands. "Blair, I'm not going to do this today, or any other day. We've forgiven each other and moved on! We agreed not to discuss it!"

"Yes, but we need to discuss it if you keep taking it out on me in your passive-aggressive, smiling-shiny, _et tu Serena _way!"

"Okay, Blair. For the millionth time, yes, what you and Dan did last year hurt. It hurt me, it hurt Chuck, just like the two of you knew it would. But Blair, it has nothing to do with today! Chuck and I have _forgiven _you for what happened!"

"I don't think that _you _are in any position to judge me..."

"Blair, I'm sorry that I missed lunch! I wanted to be there for Dan, and my mom was going to be with Rufus at NYU's graduation, so I thought I could do both. If I had known that lunch was so important to you, I would have done things differently." Serena grabbed Blair's hands. "But we're going to dinner together, we're all going to hang out tonight, and we're here for you now. Please, let's get over this, okay?"

Blair's eyes rolled.

"_Please _forgive me, Blair... c'mon, you can't stay mad!"

"Fine, Serena. Just so that you know, since you didn't come to lunch, I let that creepy Vanessa Abrams stay... and she repaid me by sneaking around and eavesdropping!"

Serena frowned. "Where was Nate?"

"Having dessert along with the others. Anyway, she was listening to me and Chuck..."

"Ew, Blair! Stop, I don't want to hear any more!"

"Um, no, genius, we were just talking by then. We were already done with our quickie, freshened up, and changed, all while our guests were enjoying their drinks and desserts on the terrace..."

"_Blair_. You two have entirely too much sex. It's not normal!"

"Judge me much, Serena? You started way before I did!"

"Yeah, but thanks to Chuck, not only have you caught up with me, but you're so far ahead you're now a speck on the horizon!"

"Only a single girl would criticize a happily married woman for _actually having_ sex _with her own husband_," said Blair severely. "Anyway, that's beside the point. There's no way Vanessa Abrams should have been in that hallway. She told Nate that she was going to the powder room, and she knows exactly where it is."

"That sounds like Vanessa," said Serena, eyes narrowing. "I don't know what Nate sees in her."

"Well, he's not going to be seeing anything in her any longer. I think he's done with her."

When Blair explained what she, Chuck, and Nate had done to Vanessa that afternoon, Serena just shook her head.

"Nate never should have believed whatever lies she told him. What if she was just trying to get close to him to get dirt on everyone? She's the one who published Dan's book. Maybe she wants an _Inside _of her own."

Blair, who rarely looked unnerved, turned pale.

"S, she overheard us talking about something that we don't want to get out yet. What should we do? We can't kidnap her forever... I mean, we _could _make her disappear, now that I think about it..."

"I don't know. What does she want? Money? A job? Someone to produce one of those plays she's been writing?" Serena shrugged. "You know what my mom always says, money can make all kinds of unpleasantness go away."

"I'm not paying her, Serena! That's what she expects us to do, and she judges us for it."

"So what's the big secret?"

Blair looked away. "We were going to tell everyone this evening at dinner."

"So Vanessa knows, but I don't?"

"Vanessa came to lunch, and you didn't."

Serena looked at Blair appraisingly. Then she shrugged.

"Never mind, I already know... is that it, then? Are you pregnant?"

"No! I mean... wait, how did you know?"

"Blair, I've thought you might be pregnant for almost a month now. Every time I've had a meal with you, you've cleared your entire plate, and I can't remember the last time you did that. Not only have you not touched a drop of champagne in God knows how long, I can't remember the last time I've seen Chuck drinking his usual single malt. Knowing you two, he gave it up in solidarity... or better yet, knowing you, you told him that he couldn't drink if you couldn't." One of Serena's slender, clear polished fingernails poked Blair in the chest. "Also, you have boobs."

Blair looked outraged for just a second. Then she started laughing, hard. Serena joined in, and the two young women held each other as mirth shook them both.

She was really happy for Blair, Serena thought, hugging her tightly. Serena couldn't imagine becoming a mother herself for a very long time. But she totally believed that Blair was ready for this... and so was Chuck.

"So when are you due?" said Serena, an arm still thrown over her best friend's shoulders as they walked back towards the crowd.

"Right before Thanksgiving."

"Are you scared? I mean, because of..."

"Everything that happened last time? No, I'm not. I can't wait."

"And Chuck?"

"Oh, Chuck's terrified, although he's not trying to let on. And now that he knows, I'm sure Bart's nervous, too... especially after everything that happened with Evelyn."

"Wait a minute. I thought it was this huge secret. Bart knows?"

"Only because Chuck had to tell him because of something that happened with Yale. Apparently, Bart got him some kind of special admission into their business major, so he can be there with me while I'm in law school... and before you ask, yes, I'm going to defer until next year."

"Well, Aunt Serena will be more than happy to babysit her new niece or nephew while Mom and Dad are at school!"

"Aunt Serena's going to be on a movie set when her new _nephew_ is born," said Blair, pouting a little. "Some aunt you are."

"No, filming wraps in late September... just in time to throw you guys the biggest baby shower the Upper East Side has ever seen! Oh, my God, I can't believe it! Blair, it's so exciting!"

"I know... wait a minute, there's Dan... what happened to him? He's holding something next to his face... wait, I lost him again."

Serena looked around. All she saw were graduates, and the occasional family member or friend breaking up the sea of blue.

"I don't see him... but there's Chuck! Chuck, we're over here!"

Chuck made his way through the crowd. Serena watched as the biggest smile lit up Blair's face as she met her husband halfway... as for Chuck, his face was indescribable. _They really are like something out of a movie_, Serena thought to herself, shaking her head as they finally reached each other. After staring at each other for several seconds, Chuck closed the distance between them and lifted Blair off the ground for a long kiss. (Several people, recognizing who they were, pulled out their cell phones to snap pictures.)

Serena laughed to herself, thinking about how excited her mother would be about the news when she heard. Lily had spent the past year teasing her adopted son and daughter-in-law about grandchildren, because "if I wait on Serena and Eric, I'll be waiting a long time." At the time, Serena had thought it crazy since they were so young (and surely her mother was too young for anyone to call Grandma), but now, it just seemed so right.

Just like everything else about Chuck and Blair.

Maybe now that they would be parents, everyone's eyes would be spared...

Then Serena looked over at them, still kissing as the crowd streamed around them, Chuck whispering against Blair's lips, Blair laughing against his, both Basses completely unconcerned with who saw them.

_No, _thought Serena wryly, _I don't think we'll be that lucky._

_**Dan**_

Dan was still smarting from Chuck Bass' sucker punch.

He hadn't been expecting it. At _all. _That creep! How dare he accuse Dan of not loving Blair when they were together? What could he know anything about what Dan had felt for Blair? Dan had watched Blair from afar, from up close, and then from a shared _bed... _he'd known her for six years now! Chuck hadn't even been around them when they were a couple. He was off uncovering secrets about his sordid, sick family...

...that Blair had chosen to marry into instead of waiting for Dan to sort out his thoughts and feelings in Rome.

Well, Chuck's little stunt wasn't going to stop Dan from getting the answers he deserved. The right thing to do was to confront Blair and demand an explanation. And, while he was at it, he was going to let her know exactly the kind of man she'd married.

Stumbling to his feet, Dan found a nearby vendor selling semi-frozen bottles of water. He bought one and took the paper towels that the man offered, attempting to clean up his face a bit, then placing the ice cold water bottle to his face. He hissed as his skin protested.

"Dan!"

He turned around. Great, there was Serena, eyeing him with surprise, taking the slightly battered bouquet of roses that he somehow still clutched.

"Oh, no! Did you fall? What happened?"

"Chuck happened," he snapped. "Listen, where's Blair?"

"Over there with Chuck... wait a minute, what do you mean, Chuck happened?"

"I guess he decided to punch me this time before I could get him," Dan quipped, looking around, then spotting the kissing couple. Chuck and Blair looked as if they were filming one of those commercial for _Big Red _chewing gum from the 1990s... in spite of himself, the jingle flooded through Dan's mind.

"I need to talk to Blair," he said.

Serena grabbed his hand. "Dan, what's this all about? Did you say something to Chuck? Did you..."

But Dan stalked toward the embracing couple, practically dragging Serena along with him (since she didn't seem to want to let go of his hand).

"Blair!"

Chuck broke their kiss first, and shot Dan a look that was both aggravation and hatred. He looked ready to fight, but then saw his sister and relented.

Blair turned around in her husband's arms to see what or who he was looking at.

"Dan! Congratulations... oh my God, what happened to your face?"

"Ask Chuck," he said.

Blair turned back to her husband, who was still looking daggers at Dan.

"Ask Humphrey. I'm sure his story will be most entertaining."

With that exchange, Serena threw up her hands and stormed away. Chuck followed her, jostling Dan's shoulder with his own aggressively as he passed. Dan thought about socking him in the jaw, since clearly one good turn deserved another. But he really did need to speak with Blair. Perhaps this would remind her about the differences between the two men. She needed to understand that she'd clearly made a poor choice.

Maybe Dan didn't want to be in a relationship with Blair any longer, but he still cared about her well-being. In Dan's opinion, Chuck was dangerous to himself, to others...

And to Blair.

Dan looked his ex-girlfriend over. Serena van der Woodsen may have been the blonde bombshell of the Upper East Side, but Blair Waldorf was truly a knockout in her own right. There was something about her gorgeous brown eyes, silky brown curls, petite frame and cherry lips that appealed to a man's eye, and Dan was no exception.

Everything that Serena wasn't? Blair _was_. In spite of himself, in spite of the fact that he'd decided long ago he was over her, his heart skipped a beat.

(One thing that he never quite understood was how Blair's lipstick stayed intact after she'd been kissing the hell out of someone. It never smeared, never smudged... how did she do that?)

"What is it?" she said as he came to stand near her. As always, she smelled of Chanel, the most incredible shampoo that had ever filled his nostrils, and Blair.

"You look... great, Blair." She did. She was practically glowing, Dan thought. Graduation looked good on her.

"You look awful," said Blair, touching her small hand to the side of his face as he lowered the cold water bottle to stare into her eyes. "Did you run into a pole or something?"

"No, I ran into Chuck's fist."

"_What?" _She looked over at her husband, who was deep in conversation with his adoptive sister. "That doesn't even sound like Chuck! Why would he punch you?"

"Blair, why didn't you wait on me?"

She blinked. "What?"

"_Why _didn't you wait on me to sort out my thoughts last year in Rome? Did you even tell Chuck what you told me?"

"No, because that was between you and me, Dan. Just as I didn't discuss my past relationships with you..."

"Blair, you told me that he didn't have your heart anymore. You told me that you wanted to be with me!"

She laughed, but there was no mirth in it. It was a dry, humorless sound.

"I'd just lost my child, and almost lost the love of my life in an accident. I was inventing God pacts and decided to marry a prince I knew I didn't love. I forgot that I was a 21 year old college student, and had dreams and ambitions of my own beyond men and marriage. I even told you that I was sad about not being a princess anymore when I was in denial about what Chuck had done for me. I said and did a lot of things last year, Dan, that weren't really me."

"I was there for you," he said, dark eyes turning cold. "I was there for you when no one else was."

"Yes, you were, Dan. I'll always appreciate you for that. And I did grow to love you... but it was always a _friendship_ love. We mistook it for something that it wasn't."

Dan grabbed both of her hands.

"Blair, _we meant something."_

Blair let him go.

"Dan, we meant _something_, yes. But it's nothing compared to what I have with Chuck. My husband is _everything, _and I love him beyond reason. You know that. You even brought us together. Chuck and I would have been married six months earlier had we not been the unfortunate victims of Tripp Vanderbilt's jealousy of Nate."

"I don't get it. How could you love me, and then marry him? We're polar opposites."

Her chocolate eyes narrowed as she hissed his words back to him.

"You don't get it? How could you love Serena, then love me, then love Serena again? We're polar opposites." The frost in Blair's stare now matched his own. "So were you lying when you came to the Victrola reception last summer to wish us well?"

"Yeah, well, I didn't think your _wedding reception _was the appropriate moment to confront you about the fact that you used me, Blair."

"We used each other. Dan, you need to get over this, and now. Graduation is supposed to be a time for celebration and new beginnings. We've all made mistakes and learned from them. Stop holding on to the past."

"You're one to talk. At least I didn't _marry _my past."

"Actually, I married my past, present, and future. And if you were talking like that to my husband, I can see why he punched you."

"Blair..."

"Dan, this conversation is over."

"No, it's not, Blair. You haven't given me any kind of explanation for what you did to me."

"I have nothing more to say to you, Dan. You need to drop this."

She started to turn from him and rejoin her husband and sister-in-law when his words stopped her short.

"You know, I thought I knew you better than anyone. You were my muse, the heroine of my breakout novel. I would have done anything for you. But now I wonder. You're not the person I thought you were, Blair."

Blair sighed.

"Dan, I thought we were still friends. But you don't know how to end a relationship and move on without making the girl out to be some kind of villain, do you? Did it ever occur to you that sometimes, things don't work out, and neither party is to blame? That some things are meant to be, and others aren't, and that's just the way life works?"

Dan felt incredibly frustrated on top of the pain that he already felt from the punch. Yet her sigh made him feel even angrier.

"Dan, I'm not my husband. I don't hate you. I'm your friend, and I want you to be happy. _I'm_ happy..."

"Does he truly make you happy, Blair?"

"No."

Dan felt a small leap of glee in the pit of his stomach. But Blair's next words squelched it.

"You didn't _make me_ happy either. _I'm _the one who determines my own happiness, Dan. That's why you and I were never meant to be. You tried to _make _me happy. Chuck only ever wanted me to _be _happy, whatever that meant for me. Happiness isn't something you create for someone else. It comes from a choice to live the best life that you can, every day, choosing the person who knows you inside out and thinks the world of you, no matter what... who lights up every time they see you... who lives for you, thinks of you every second you're apart, and dreams about you even though you're lying in their arms all night, and you'd never let them go for anything in the world.

"That's the life I have with Chuck, Dan. It took me long enough, but I finally chose him. And I choose him every day of our lives, just as he chooses me. That's _my _happiness."

He frowned. Clearly, Blair had grown empty headed since their time together. Chuck Bass had finally brainwashed her, Dan guessed.

"You know, you could have just said 'yes, Chuck makes me happy' and spared me the lovey-dovey speech in homage to _Chuck Bass_ of all people."

"You needed to hear it, Dan. Which is why I don't think you deserve Serena... not after what you just said to me. She deserves more than that. More than you."

"Blair, wait..."

"Don't touch me!"

And Chuck was closing the space between them in an instant, followed closely by Serena. Blair rushed to intercept her husband before another brawl ensued.

"I'm fine," said Blair, cupping his face in her hands. "He's had his say. Let's just go."

Chuck seemed to calm down at the sensation of her touch. Nevertheless, if looks could kill, Dan Humphrey would have disintegrated into a pile of ashes on the spot.

"Humphrey, you've had your 'closure.' I trust that you won't need to _close_ anything with my wife ever again. Although we have to see you at dinner tonight, I meant what I said. Stay away from her."

Dan couldn't believe it. He glared as Chuck's arm wound around his wife's waist and they walked away. Did Blair actually seem _relieved _at being rescued? Glad to be away from Dan? That just didn't make any sense. How could Blair make Dan out to be the bad guy in this situation? He wasn't a villain. He did nothing wrong!

Dan watched them go for a few seconds longer. Then he felt eyes on him.

He turned around.

Serena was standing there, arms folded. Her eyes were filled with unshed tears. Dan saw that the red rose bouquet had been discarded on the walkway long since, trampled by the crowd.

"Serena, what's wrong?"

Her beautiful blue eyes closed, and the tears spilled over.

"Everything."

"Wait, you're not blaming me for this, are you? I wasn't trying to... with _Blair... _Serena, come on! You should know me better than that!"

Serena wiped her eyes, and threw up her hands.

"Dan, I don't care anymore. I just don't even care. You know what? I'm going to take the town car ahead to where we're meeting for dinner, make sure everything's in place. Why don't you get your own ride so that maybe you can find the 'closure' that you so desperately need?"

"So what, am I disinvited? Serena, stop being so melodramatic." He closed the distance between them and took her face in his hands. "Now that I've closed one chapter of my life, I'm ready to begin another..."

OUCH. She'd slapped him right over the spot where Chuck's sucker punch landed on his face!

"Dan, on my worst day, I will never be the drama queen that you are. Since our _parents _are expecting us there, _stepbrother, _and it's your graduation day, you'd better show_. _Good luck explaining what happened to your face to _them._"

Serena walked away, then turned to look over her shoulder.

"Oh, and Dan? Congratulations."

_**Jenny**_

Jenny hadn't wanted to go with Serena and Dan to find Blair, so she remained on the sidewalk at the perimeter of campus, people watching. New York fashion was, as always, very different from what she'd seen over in London and on her trips to Paris, Milan, and Rome. (For one thing, most Americans were a few sizes bigger than the average European.) Still, most Columbia grads were from good families, if not always wealthy ones, and they cared about their appearances. She noticed that bold colors, brilliant in the spring sunlight, were all the rage here. It was a bit different from what designers were doing on the Continent with 1950s diner tones.

She thought back to her younger self that wanted to be part of this world so badly, who wanted to be the center of attention in this crowd.

Today, Jenny felt detached. This totally wasn't her scene. After the awkward dinner tonight, she'd spend the day in Hudson with her mother, then head to JFK. She couldn't wait until the American accents were few and far between again...

"Jenny. You made it."

Jenny turned around and saw Nate standing alone, cap in hand, sunlight illuminating his dark blond hair. His robes were zipped open thanks to the heat of the day, and underneath he'd loosened his silk tie and undone the first two buttons of his shirt.

In spite of herself, Jenny's eyes traveled from his Adam's apple, down to where sweat beaded on the tanned skin visible between the open buttons...

Then she stopped herself. _Where _was this coming from? She hadn't felt like this since the ending of her disastrous junior year. Certainly when she'd returned to New York senior year, first for the Parsons interview Blair sabotaged, then for her revenge, she hadn't been thinking about Nate...

Who was sleeping with Vanessa.

Who was forever in love with Serena.

Who once upon a time, only saw her as his friend's kid sister...

...who he liked to _kiss?_

Jenny snapped out of it.

"Hey, Nate," she said casually. "Congratulations."

"Yeah," he said, walking over to where she stood. _A little too close, _Jenny thought as his sporty cologne and Nate-scent filled her senses. "Glad you made it, Jenny. I'm really glad."

"Wouldn't have missed it," she said. "So where's Vanessa?"

A shadow crossed Nate's eyes. "In the limo. Listen, Jenny, before you dash back to London, would you mind if we..."

But they were interrupted by two people.

"Nate," said William Vanderbilt, looking up from his conversation with Bart Bass. "There you are. Congratulations. I couldn't be more proud."

"Thanks, Grandfather." In spite of their differences, Nate was a true son of an Upper East Side family. He was glad that his grandfather had come to celebrate this important day with him.

"Jennifer," said Bart. "How is London?"

"Wonderful, thanks," she said. "Excuse me, I'm going to see if I can find my brother."

"Jenny, wait..." said Nate, low, but loudly enough so that the two powerful men heard it. As she walked away, Jenny heard Bart say, "She's grown into a lovely young woman, Nathaniel..."

So she made her departure worth it. Jenny had learned how to walk from watching everyone from runway models to Blair Waldorf, who actually had a more alluring gait than Serena (Serena _really _didn't put any effort into hers). Most of the time, Jenny was unconscious of it, but today, she decided to give Nate Archibald something to look at as she sauntered up the street.

_Look and wonder, Archibald. Best thing you'll never have._

About a half block away, Jenny saw a very familiar limo, with its chauffeur standing next to it, chatting on his cell phone.

"Arthur, hi," said Jenny, recognizing Chuck's driver.

"I have to go," said Arthur to whoever he was talking to, closing his cell phone as his boss' stepsister approached. "Miss Humphrey, it's good to see you again."

"Thank you. Is Vanessa still in the limo?"

The same shadow that had crossed Nate's face moments before crossed Arthur's now.

"Why, yes."

"Why? Everyone's standing outside."

When Arthur stared at her and didn't respond, Jenny knew something was up.

"Oh, my God. Is she _sick? _On _your _watch..."

Although she doubted it was the truth, Jenny Humphrey knew how to wrest a confession on the UES, even all these years later. Her reign as Constance queen may have been short lived, but she'd learned how to play the game well.

"...while you're just standing out here?"

"Not at all," said Arthur. "Miss Abrams is quite well. I just checked on her five minutes ago."

"Okay, then..." Jenny approached the window of the stretch vehicle to knock, "you won't mind me checking in on her, will you?"

"She is indisposed."

Jenny blinked. "What? Arthur, what's going on?"

The chauffeur folded his arms. "She is not to leave the limo, Miss Humphrey."

After a brief staring match, Jenny considered just walking away. But...

"So she can't leave the limo... could I get into the limo and chat with her?"

Arthur hesitated.

"Look, Arthur, I don't even care about whatever's going on here. I'm leaving for London in less than 48 hours, and I haven't really had a chance to talk to Vanessa, and I've known her since I was four, and..."

"Very well, Miss Humphrey. As long as she doesn't get out, I don't see what it could hurt."

Arthur came to the last door, and unlocked it with his key fob. The door flung open, but Jenny quickly slid inside and Arthur closed and locked it again before Vanessa could even attempt to get a foot out.

"Damn it!" said Vanessa, clearly agitated. "What are you doing here, Jenny? Did Nate send you?"

Vanessa looked even worse than when she'd seen her hours before, Jenny reflected. She never had a great hand at makeup, either wearing too little or too much, but now it was streaked all over her face. Her eyes were puffy and red, and the bodice of her dress clung damply to her chest.

But her hair was still good. Jenny had to admire it. It had never looked like that when they were younger.

"No, he didn't. Vanessa, what happened?"

Vanessa let out a long, defeated sigh.

Then she started talking.

_**Eric**_

Was there ever a boyfriend quite like Alec Bertrand? He rocked a totally sexy russet bedhead, had the warmest and kindest _gray _eyes Eric had ever seen on a man, and freckles dotted his face, his chest...

...and other parts of his boyfriend that Eric van der Woodsen dearly loved.

Eric was completely in love with him. Towards the end of his sister-in-law's graduation, right before the speaker came on, Alec had whispered a heated proposition in his ear, and they left, claiming they needed to get some air. Somehow, they'd found an open classroom with a door that could be locked...

"There, I hope that made up for last night," said Alec, biting Eric's ear just before they separated, and started putting their clothing to rights. "Yesterday was a long day..."

Eric blushed and grinned as he buckled his belt again. "Yeah, I couldn't believe you fell asleep on me! This from the man who bragged to me when we first met about his incredible stamina."

"I'm French."

"Half-French, your mother's from Scotland."

Finished re-dressing, they left the classroom, hand in hand, stealing meaningful looks at each other.

"Eric, you still have not given me an answer," Alec finally said. "I want to go to this dinner tonight, meeting your family, knowing that I will someday be part of them."

Eric sighed. It just wasn't that simple. Alec was older than he was. He was finishing medical school next year, just in time for Eric to finish at Sarah Lawrence. Wherever Alec ended up doing his residency, he'd made it more than clear that he wanted Eric to be there with him...

As his partner. As his husband.

Eric knew that he was head over heels in love with Alec. He'd never felt this way about another man before. But they had just met six months before, and Eric was only 20. He really couldn't see himself settling down just yet.

Plus, things were so good right now. Why couldn't they just stay that way for a while?

"Alec, this is my sister-in-law's, stepbrother's, and family friend's big day. I don't want to take that away from them." Gathering his courage, he stole a look at his boyfriend. "You understand, don't you?"

Alec's smile faltered, but remained in place as he squeezed, then released Eric's hand.

"Of course." His gray eyes locked with Eric's, then looked past him. He frowned. "But what is wrong with your stepbrother? He seems to be in some kind of trouble."

Eric looked. And there, sitting on one of the benches along the walk towards the quadrangle, sat Dan, holding a water bottle against the side of his face.

"Maybe he's got heatstroke," said Eric, as they walked quickly toward him. "He's still got on those graduation robes... hey, Dan!"

Dan looked up at the couple as they came to stand in front of him. They could see that his right cheekbone, and all along the side of his right eye was red. In addition, a streak of freshly dried blood trailed from his right nostril to the corner of his lip.

"Dan, what happened?" said Eric, as Alec quickly sat next to his stepbrother and started to examine the damage to his face.

"Unfortunately, Chuck happened," Dan said.

"Chuck? As in, _Chuck Bass?"_ Eric was in disbelief.

"Last night, he said that he was a lover, not a fighter," Alec said, laughing. "I wonder what caused the turnaround."

"His insecurities did," said Dan, flatly. "I finally decided to get closure with Blair, and what does he do? He goes on and on about something that happened over a year ago, then sucker punches me. But I should have expected it, it's Chuck. And the worst part of it all is that she actually took his side!"

Eric and Alec looked at each other.

"Dan," said Eric slowly, "um, you kinda can't get closure with a married woman, and tell her husband all about why you think you deserved her before ungraciously conceding him the prize. At least, that's not how I think it works."

"Especially not a husband who's about to become a father," muttered Alec.

"_What?"_ said Dan, at the same time that Eric shot Alec a look and said, "Um, babe? Don't think that's common knowledge yet. Probably not a good idea to share."

"I can't believe this," said Dan. "First, Chuck railroads Blair into marrying him, and then, even after everything she's been through recently, everything that he threw in my face, he goes and gets her pregnant..."

"From what I have witnessed during my time here," said Alec, "Blair was a very willing participant."

"Very _loudly _willing," said Eric.

"Strange, I didn't hear a thing," Alec said to him.

"Yeah, because they've soundproofed since the last time I stayed with them, and my ears thank them. Yours should too." Eric turned back to Dan. "What's this really all about? I thought you were happy with my sister."

"I am."

Alec and Eric waited.

"Well, I was. It's just... I always had the chance to figure out what happened in my past relationships. My thing with Blair was a long build-up with not a lot of payoff. I just wanted to know why she went back to him, that's all. Because she told me that he didn't have her heart anymore, that it belonged to me."

Eric laughed. Was he serious?

"Come on, Dan, how long have you known Blair Waldorf? She lies as easily as she tells the truth. Years ago, I watched her lie about loving that Lord Marcus guy just because she was angry with Chuck over some thing or other that he'd done. For years, we've all watched everyone who dared to come between Chuck and Blair get shredded, and you _still_ decided to embark on a suicide mission?"

"Eric, I was in love with her."

"No, you weren't. There's no way you could have been in love with Blair _and_ my sister, Dan. Come on. Blair Waldorf... and Serena van der Woodsen? It's mentally and emotionally impossible to be in love with both. So what was it really all about?"

Dan's head was in his hands. "I don't know," he conceded. "But whatever it is, I know it's keeping me from committing to Serena again. She's really upset with me right now..."

"Your stepsister?"

Eric and Dan both shot not-so-nice looks Alec's way.

"Hey, I am European," Alec said. "I don't judge."

"Dan, you've got to decide," said Eric. "It's not fair to Blair, Serena, or any of the rest of us who have to pretend as if everything's not awkward. Why can't you just be like Nate? Nate's fine with everything, and he's slept with everybody..."

"Including you?"

"No, babe," Eric assured Alec, "he's not that kind of girl."

"I'm not Nate," said Dan. "Or Chuck. Sex and relationships actually mean something to me."

"Then you need to be honest with my sister," said Eric. "Did you tell Serena that you came to Blair and Nate's graduation to get closure with Blair? Serena's been floating around for weeks, planning this dinner tonight... I have no idea what she's got up, but it's filled most of her time. It's not fair to her, Dan. Either let her go, or make her your priority. There's no other way."

Dan stood up, cradling his face. His eyes were unreadable.

"Well, I should probably clean myself up before this dinner. Where are we meeting again?"

"We're all supposed to meet at the North Cove Marina at six-thirty," said Eric.

"Battery Park? That's not Serena's usual scene."

"I know, but they've got some excellent restaurants down there. The weather's so nice, I'm sure she's booked a terrace or something."

"Fine, I'll be there, but I've got to get from here to Brooklyn, so I might be a little late. Do me a favor, tell Serena that I went home to change clothes, and I'll see her there."

Eric turned to face Alec, who had a knowing smirk on his face.

"Well, well, Mr. van der Woodsen. You seem to know a lot about husbands, and marriages... is there something you wish to tell me?"

"Tonight," said Eric, covering Alec's hand with his. "Tonight."

_**Vanessa**_

"So, do you think I was wrong?"

Vanessa looked Jenny over. Now that Nate wasn't around, she could admit to herself that Dan's little sister had certainly grown into quite a young woman. She definitely had one of the prettiest faces Vanessa had ever seen, especially now that she wasn't caking it all up with raccoon make-up. Her look was still slightly edgy, but very tasteful.

Jenny's most arresting feature were her amazing long-lashed blue eyes. Vanessa remembered how innocent they were when she was a small girl, then how sullen and haughty they were when they saw each other last.

Now, those eyes were trained on Vanessa. But, unlike in the past, they were unreadable.

"I can see how you might stumble upon a conversation that you weren't supposed to hear," said Jenny. "But Vanessa, you had to know they were going to be mad when they found out. It is Chuck and Blair, let's not forget."

"They didn't even want to listen to what I had to say!" Vanessa said, feeling frustrated. Especially since she _still _had to use the restroom. "I was actually going to compliment them! Instead they just chose to kidnap me."

"Well, neither you nor I have the best track record on the Upper East Side when it comes to these people. Remember, our last hurrah here was when we schemed with Juliet Sharpe to take down Serena."

"And Blair," said Vanessa. "Wasn't it satisfying to pull down that curtain, and throw on the lights?"

"No," Jenny replied. "You know, I thought it would be, but I felt as if I had behaved like a child. That was my last scheme. Some of us weren't made to plot and plan... the only thing I've got designs on these days are my own fashions."

"I just hate that they get away with everything, you know? And they get everything, too. I mean, if the world were fair, a woman as awful as Blair Waldorf should be stuck in a loveless, sexless, miserable relationship with some inbred blue blood or that inbred Monegasque prince. If I'd written _Inside, _that's what would have happened to Clair..."

"But you didn't," said Jenny. "Vanessa, what did you really come back to New York for? Did you really come back for Nate? Or are you trying to get revenge against Dan, Blair, and Chuck for whatever you think they did to you?"

"They get away with everything," Vanessa repeated.

"Elites almost always do." Jenny sighed. "Vanessa, we're not them. This is their world. We're the interlopers, the intruders. Either we conform, get out, or..."

"Or destroy it," said Vanessa. "Gossip Girl was right about Dan. He really is the ultimate insider playing at being a hipster. If he had any balls, he would have taken down Bart Bass when he had the chance."

Jenny shook her head.

"My brother may be an idiot, but he has a conscience. He would have never done something like that."

"But I would have. And I may have some information that could hurt them. I just need to figure out how to play it."

"What? Vanessa, how could baby news hurt Chuck and Blair? I think it'll be the opposite."

"I know something else about them."

"What?"

"They don't have a prenup. I didn't even think that was possible for people like them. One little divorce, and there's one evil empire that's wiped out of existence."

Jenny scoffed. "So what? Who cares? Do you really think that Chuck's ever going to let Blair divorce him? Especially now that they're having a kid?"

"Are you kidding? This is the Upper East Side. Chuck and Blair have this on-again, off-again relationship during the best of times. Those two live for drama. They might be in love right now, but mark my words, they'll be on the rocks again eventually."

Vanessa remembered an incident from several years earlier, her thoughts darkening. Once upon a time, long ago when he and Blair were on the outs, Chuck had turned to her. They schemed together to prevent Blair and Nate from hooking back up...

...and instead, _they_ had hooked up.

Did she say that Nate had been the best she'd ever had? Chuck Bass had deserved every bit of his reputation back then. And... he hadn't kicked her out of bed, either, which certainly wasn't what word on the street led her to anticipate. They'd spent the night and the whole morning together.

Vanessa shivered at the memory. What if?

The younger woman's mouth dropped open. Obviously Jenny wasn't a little girl anymore. She clearly knew exactly what Vanessa was thinking.

"Vanessa, are you _totally insane?" _

"I have something that I can use if I can dig it up. No one needs to know it's from 2009..."

"I'd know, and I'd tell them."

"Ah, but before you could, the damage would be done."

Jenny shook her head. "It won't work, Vanessa. They'll find out, and next time, they won't just kidnap you... why don't you just drop this already? Apologize to Chuck and Blair, say you'll never see them again, and go back to Brooklyn or Barcelona, and _write? _Why are you doing this?"

Vanessa glared at Jenny. Jenny would never understand what consumed Vanessa. When she was younger, Vanessa had burned with passion, but back then, it was merely a passion to see and record and document the world. She didn't have many friends growing up (Arlo and Gabriella Abrams' weirdness guaranteed that), but Dan was always there.

What if she hadn't run when Dan told her that he loved her? They were young, but by the time she was in her early teens, Vanessa was secretly head over heels for her best friend. He was good-looking even in those days, but was such an awkward, shy _nerd _until most girls didn't bother looking his way. Vanessa hadn't been expecting his heady confession, or his quick, furtive kiss the day she told him that she was moving away with her parents (who felt as if Brooklyn was becoming "too gentrified, not enough about community"). So she freaked, and ran...

But Vanessa remembered Dan's words and his boyish kiss the entire time she was in Vermont. Although she wouldn't admit it, Dan had been in her head when she convinced her parents to allow her to homeschool and live with her sister in New York so that she could learn filmmaking.

The memory of that first kiss was with her still. But then came Serena van der Woodsen (some rich spoiled girl who couldn't possibly love or understand Dan the way that Vanessa did) into his life. After that, the next girl Dan seriously dated was Olivia Burke, a freaking _movie _star.

And then came the threesome. That night, Vanessa learned two things about herself.

Girls really weren't her thing. Vanessa's sister might have been a lesbian, but as beautiful as Olivia was, Vanessa just felt as if something was missing whenever she touched her. (Vanessa, however, felt that Olivia may have regarded her a little differently, though. It wasn't surprising, given her profession.)

And Dan Humphrey had the most amazing bedroom eyes in the universe. He wasn't the most skilled lover Vanessa had ever had, but every time she was with Dan, Vanessa knew that he loved her completely...

...until he decided to go back to Serena.

Serena.

And then... Blair. Of all the women in the world, he had to go for Blair Waldorf? Be hung up on her like a little puppy dog? Going all emo, refusing to cut his hair or shave, waiting on that trust fund brat hand and foot...

For _Blair Waldorf?_

Vanessa seethed with quiet rage over the memory. All the handsome men in Barcelona, across Europe, and even two months with Nate Archibald weren't enough to wipe the thought of that relationship from Vanessa's brain.

"Why are you doing this?" Jenny asked her again.

Jenny Humphrey. So beautiful. So talented. _So fucking naïve. _Jenny thought that because the Manhattan elite had bitch-slapped her and put her back into her place, the right move was to run and hide. To not get hers.

"Because they deserve it, Jenny," said Vanessa. "Because I _can."_

But before she could do anything else, the door to the limo opened. There stood Bart Bass, along with several corporate suits.

"Jennifer," he said. "Why don't you and your friend ride to dinner in my chopper? I'm sure my son and his wife would like to use their limo."

Jenny sent Vanessa her best "STFU, you idiot" glance, then turned to nod at Bart. "Sure, that sounds like fun!" She gave him her hand so that she could be helped out.

"Boris, please take Miss Humphrey to the helipad. Let her have the jump seat, if she likes. The rest of you, please give me a moment."

He then slid into the limo and closed the door.

"Miss... Abrams, is it?"

Vanessa glared at him. She didn't say anything.

"Chuck told me all about the little stunt you pulled at their home today. I want you to know that I'm watching you. My son, daughter-in-law, and their friends grew up in this world, but _I did not."_

"No offense, Mr. Bass, but you've been removed from the real world long enough," said Vanessa once she found her voice. She didn't care if he was Big Bad Bart Bass. She wasn't Arlo and Gabriela Abrams' daughter for nothing.

That's when Bart laughed. To Vanessa, it was the most horrible sound in the world. It sounded like the noise that the killer in a slasher fic would emit.

"All you need to know, Miss Abrams, is that I am watching you. Whatever my son and daughter-in-law did to you is _nothing _compared to what I would do to protect them. I am a man who rewards my friends richly, while my enemies..." he paused so that she could contemplate his meaning.

Vanessa's glare quavered under the look in Bart's eyes.

"So. It seems that we have an understanding. Since I don't have a dinner date, Miss Abrams, and you no longer do, either, I'm afraid that you're stuck with me."

He opened the limo door, and all that Vanessa could do was slide out after him.

Goosebumps were still standing up on her skin.

_**Blair**_

Well. _This_ was certainly undignified, thought Blair, even as her dress pooled on the floor just beyond the locked lounge door at Columbia. She tried to gather her thoughts and protest, even though her hands were tangling in her husband's hair as his lips and teeth pulled on the tip of her breast through her pale blue silk bra.

"There's no... there won't be any time to change," she told him, although it came out as more of a moan (and then a squeak, when he nipped her with his teeth).

"No need," he husked, mouth moving against the valley between her breasts. Wicked fingers running down her sides. "Provisions have been made."

"What provisions? Chuck, what are we..."

For somehow, her bra had disappeared, and had joined her dress and commencement regalia on the floor. His lips were trailing concentric circles around her other breast, while his fingers came up to tease the one he'd already laved through the fabric.

"No questions," he said in that stretched-thin tone that let Blair know he was trying to maintain control.

Blair shivered as his lips and hands trailed down from her breasts and traced a line to her barely-there baby bump.

"Hey, baby Bass," he whispered hotly against her belly button. "Daddy's making Mommy feel _really_ good right now..."

"_Chuck," _Blair said, blushing at the thought of her children ever having that kind of conversation with their father. Let them think the stork brought them.

She wanted to say all this to him, but his fingers were slipping inside her soaked underwear (not La Perla this time, but Jolidon). So it was impossible. He had her so undone she couldn't even _think._

"A happy mommy makes," he rasped, sliding her panties down, "a healthy baby."

And her eyes fluttered closed at his first hot lick. He did not let her go until she'd come twice. When he actually tried to continue his slow seduction against the door, Blair decided one good turn deserved another. She pounced on him, stripped him out of his powder-blue suit and dark blue tie, pushed him to the floor, and rode him to oblivion.

"This happy mommy loves making her baby's daddy _very _happy," she purred into his ear as they lay intertwined for a moment, bodies cooling and pulses calming, right before they helped each other back into their clothes.

Forty-five minutes later, Blair was reclining in Chuck's arms in the back of the limo. After they'd made good use of the small deserted lounge inside Hamilton House, they were heading to dinner. Blair fussed at Chuck for not having disinfected the limo from the presence of an Abrams, or at least, not filling it with peonies and presents. He snarked back that he'd filled their bedroom with professional floral arrangements that morning, all blue, gold, and white, in honor of her day... but if she _really _preferred cheap street-vendor flowers like the ones Humphrey had procured, to let him know and they'd buy out the nearest stand, "Eliza Doolittle."

They'd made out for a short while after that, then Blair, exhausted from the excitement of the day (and still a bit languorous from their lovemaking at Columbia) dozed off, lulled by the stroke of his fingertips along her hairline, down her cheek and temple, and around to her chin.

When she opened her eyes, she saw that they were somewhere in the Financial District. Chuck was on his phone, talking about the Hong Kong project, but as soon as he saw that she was awake, he ended the call.

"Did you sleep well, beautiful?"

She felt as if she was glowing under his gaze. "Always when I'm with you, my love. Where are we?"

"The place we've arranged for dinner is around here."

"Near the World Trade Center?" Blair frowned. "Why here? I don't think I've been down here much since we were children... and everything happened."

Neither said anything, but both were thinking the same thoughts. September 11, 2001 had been the worst, the most frightening, and the very scariest day of their childhoods. Blair's, Chuck's, and Nate's dads had all been in the vicinity of the tragedy that morning... the Captain's office was in the South Tower, and Harold's was nearby. And Bart... Bart actually had a nine o' clock breakfast meeting at the Windows on the World restaurant, and entered the lobby of the North Tower just as the first plane hit.

They couldn't reach their fathers _all day long. _The Archibald brownstone was closest to their school, so they, along with about a dozen other kids they knew, walked there. Eleanor arrived from the atelier in a state, demanding that Blair leave with her "just in case Harold comes home" but Blair had adamantly refused. She sat on the Archibalds' antique horsehair sofa, Nate on one side, Chuck on the other, while Serena (who they always assumed back then didn't really have a dad) fluttered around, trying to distract them in any way that she could.

Blair never forgot the scream of the first woman who ran into Lily van der Woodsen's arms, one of the mothers of a girl whose name Blair tried to remember (Anna? Alicia?). Her husband had been working in the South Tower, five floors above the impact zone, and had been talking to her until the end...

When the towers collapsed, they had all been ten years old.

It was a horrible day. There were more hysterical mothers like that, and a few fathers, too. More of their classmates who cried and screamed like the mothers, or simply looked zombiefied. After a while, the four friends climbed the stairs up to the roof of the Archibald home, and just stared at the opaque dark gray cloud that seemed to loom over everything south of 14th.

"I think the world is ending," said Nate. "I wonder if my dad's in that cloud."

"Natie, don't _say _that," said Serena, seeing all the color leave Blair's face.

Chuck hadn't said anything since the headmistress had announced that school would be let out "because of the unfortunate plane crash" shortly after they'd all arrived. He'd been silent all day.

But then, he spoke.

"I hope your dads are okay," he said. "Mine is."

"How can you be so sure, Chuck?" Blair asked him, frowning.

"Because... there he is."

Chuck had pointed, and they saw him on the street below. Bart Bass, not yet a billionaire but very close even back then, was normally very intimidating and imposing.

On that day, he was covered from head to toe with soot from the Twin Towers. Like a ghost.

Or an angel.

Back in the present, Blair shivered from the memory. Their dads had all made it out, but so many of the kids they went to school with lost fathers, mothers, and other loved ones. It was such an awful time, and this part of the city always reminded her of that.

Of course when she shivered, Chuck started rubbing her arms, although he knew she wasn't cold.

"I know you don't like this area much, Blair, but we're not going to dine at one of the second-rate establishments that proliferate down here. We're actually going to the North Cove."

"Oh? Is there a new restaurant that's opening?"

"Something like that."

She couldn't see his face from this angle (she was resting her head on his chest again), but she could hear the mirth in his voice.

"Bass, I'm trusting you. I know that Serena doesn't mind tacky, but you do."

He took her hand in his. "Do you think I'd do that to you on your graduation day?"

"I wouldn't put anything past you sometimes, but... no."

Chuck kissed the smooth spot behind her ear. "So don't worry about it. We'll be there in five minutes, and judging from the calls I've been getting, everyone's already there."

"Well, it was your idea to get it in before dinner," Blair teased.

"No, Mrs. Bass, that was _your _idea. Apparently your husband's defense of your honor by punching out the lights of a certain Brooklyn ex-suitor made you incredibly _hot." _ His teeth found her earlobe again. "Which you are, every day of the week... and _seven _times on Sundays."

Giggle. "Don't get crazy now. Our record is..."

"More than seven times, if memory serves."

"It was our honeymoon, Bass. That doesn't count." She looked up at him. "So where is my present? It's after six pm... and _that _doesn't count, either."

He just grinned at her. _God, he's so handsome when he smiles, _Blair thought, melting. _I just love looking at him. What did I do right to land such an incredible husband? _Sometimes thoughts like that just struck her in the middle of any given conversation with Chuck. Blair marveled at how he could make her feel as if she was still falling in love with him every day.

But of course, she couldn't let him get away with keeping her in the dark, now could she?

"Bass, what do you know? Stop beaming like an idiot and tell me. It's not nice to leave your doting wife in the dark!"

"I haven't. It's not my fault that my doting wife isn't very observant."

"What?"

"Blair, you're wearing it."

"I am?" She instinctively looked down at her Harry Winston engagement set and wedding band, then at the tennis bracelet from Tiffany's (a long-ago Christmas gift from her father) that she'd put on that morning. Reached up and touched her small diamond stud earrings. "Chuck..."

"You haven't checked the last spot," he teased her.

"What spot?"

"My _favorite spot." _ Their eyes met. "No, not _there... _there are only a few things that belong _there_ and none of them are presents."

"Hm. I beg to differ." She leaned up to taste his lips, hand smoothing over the side of his face...

And as she drew back, she felt it.

"Chuck?" She ran her fingers down an exquisite platinum chain, threaded with dark blue ribbon of the finest silk...

...until her hands stopped on the pendant. She picked it up. Turned it over.

"Oh, my _God!"_

While she was sleeping, Chuck had fastened a custom-designed cameo locket around her neck. On one side was a perfectly carved ivory replica of Marie Antoinette's face from the portrait in her childhood bedroom, set in lacquered blue... and on the other, an exquisite, detailed silhouette of Audrey Hepburn.

She didn't even need to look inside to know what was there, but she did. On the left side of the locket there was Blair's favorite picture of them as a couple, taken during their honeymoon. They'd been at her father and Roman's for the day, and Chuck and Blair had taken it right before horseback riding to the vineyard on the property. Her husband was so seldom casually dressed, and Blair had thought he was incredibly sexy in his riding outfit. She also, for once, couldn't find fault with her appearance in the picture. She looked and seemed happy and loved.

The other side contained a very tiny copy of something that Chuck kept tucked away inside his desk drawer at Bass Industries, and that Blair kept locked away in her day planner...

Their child's first sonogram.

Blair closed the locket, closed her hand around it. As Chuck's hand closed around hers, her eyes filled with tears.

"As soon as I knew, while you were sleeping the day you told me, I called our jeweler," he told her, kissing her forehead tenderly. "It's not any of the pieces that you placed on hold, that you know I'll pick up to surprise you with when you least expect it. And it's not even that expensive, at least not compared to most of what I've given you. But..."

"It's _perfect," _she sobbed. "Oh, my God, Chuck, I love you so much! This is the best graduation present ever!"

"But it's not your graduation present. That, I will give you after dinner. This is just because every time I look at you and know that you're carrying my baby, Blair..."

He trailed off and just _looked _at her. Her eyes said just as much.

"Do we _really_ have to go to this dinner, Chuck?"

"We don't have to do anything. But there's more surprises there. And... we'd have a lot of explaining to do."

She sighed, perfectly content.

"Fine, Bass. But just wait until I get my hands on you."

He kissed her one more time, and Arthur opened the door.

_**Nate**_

It wasn't the first time that Nate had been in Bart Bass' helicopter. Bass Industries actually owned two of them, but Chuck rarely used his, preferring to travel the city in his signature limousine and arranging his schedule to accommodate the heavy traffic as much as he could. Blair actually was the one to use their chopper most, and would loan it to their friends, especially when they were busy and needed to get to the airport quickly.

But Bart used his often. Despite their dissimilarities in upbringing and family background, there was so much about Bart that reminded Nate of William Vanderbilt. It was no surprise that the two men had been good friends for years, the patriarch being impressed by the real estate upstart's discipline, drive, and sheer ruthlessness. Nate knew that it had been the Vanderbilt family who had ushered Bart and then his son firmly into the ranks of the moneyed elite.

He'd been best friends with Chuck for as long as he could remember. They always gave different ages for it ("since we were eleven," "since we were six," "since before we could walk") but Nate couldn't remember not knowing Chuck. Their birthdays were only a month apart, and they often had to line up next to each other in class (Archibald comes right before Bass) just like Serena and Blair usually lined up near each other (van der Woodsen, Waldorf).

All these years later, Chuck's father remained an enigma to Nate. Bart was like his son – intense – but like ten times more so. None of their friends had ever really warmed to him until he married Lily, but then his long disappearance inhibited any further attempts to get to know him.

Yet there sat Jenny Humphrey, chattering animatedly with the business titan from the jump seat, drawing him out, even making him _laugh _once (Bart Bass _laughing?) _as they flew over the familiar landscape of the city.

"This view is absolutely amazing," she gushed. "You really do feel as if you're on top of the world!"

"That's exactly what I said during my first helicopter ride," he said. "It's still one of my favorite ways to travel."

Her blue eyes sparkled over her shoulder as she looked back. "It would be super amazing to see the view from above other famous cities. Paris..."

"...now, that's amazing," said Bart. "We have a new hotel that we acquired there last year. Perhaps you'd like to visit when you have your next break from school."

"That'd be great," said Jenny, smiling happily. "So what's your favorite place from above?"

Nate was enchanted by listening to Jenny chatter on. Watching the famously cold businessman warm to her was phenomenal. Had he never noticed how good with people Jenny was? He'd really liked what he'd noticed about her when she was a freshman and he was a junior, but then his ex-girlfriend, his ex-girlfriend's mother, his best friend, an ambassador's son, and the demands of being queen at Constance drove the younger Humphrey sibling over the edge.

It seemed as if the crazy had gone, but what if it came back? Jenny had been out of control as a teenager, and eventually became not very likeable. Nate remembered everything from Jenny embarrassing Vanessa at a long-ago ball, to her waking up in his bed while he was supposed to be with Serena, to the revelation that she'd been one of the three behind Serena's gaslighting.

He'd forgiven Vanessa for that, and look at what Vanessa had just done. His soon-to-be-ex was sitting in the copter next to Bart, glowering, arms folded, not saying a word. There couldn't have been a greater contrast between Jenny's good cheer and Vanessa's sullen...

"Hans, could you please hand me a bottle of water?" Bart said, checking his watch, then pulling a pillbox out of one of the compartments. (Nate marveled at how much the move was just like his son, who stashed _everything _in that limo.)

"Sure thing, Mr. Bass."

As Bart popped a pill, Jenny checked her own watch.

"Hey, Hans. Would you mind getting me a bottle of water, too? I'm a little thirsty."

"Of course, Miss Humphrey..."

"We have regular bottled and Pelligrino," corrected Bart. "Also other drinks, Hans. Please don't make me do your job for you."

"Of course not, Mr. Bass. Apologies, would anyone else like something?"

Nate took a cold can of Coke, and Vanessa surprised him by requesting one as well. Jenny just took the bottle of water...

And Nate saw her discreetly reach into her purse, take out a small pill, and pop it.

He sighed. Of course Jenny was acting more normally now. She had literally been crazy during high school. Well, Nate was _so_ sick of dating crazy girls that he wouldn't even consider...

_Wait a minute, Archibald. Are you seriously considering dating Jenny Humphrey? Where did this come from? This morning, you were head over heels for Vanessa. Before that, Lola. Before her, Serena. Before her, Lola again. Before her, Diana..._

Outwardly, his blue eyes were placid. Inwardly, Nate shook his head. What was he doing?

_The endless parade of women needs to stop. You're 22 years old, and you're not some mid-American suburban gigolo who waits to settle down when he's 40 and has a beer belly. All of your cousins were married by their late twenties. You haven't even had a steady girlfriend who's lasted more than three months since Blair, and you were both kids then. Aren't you tired of all those Vanderbilt aunts snickering about you showing up to family events with a different girl on your arm every time?_

_You need to just work things out with Vanessa. She's got to understand that she messed up today, plain and simple. You really liked Vanessa during junior and senior year at St. Jude's..._

But why _was _he with her today? As the helicopter descended, Nate tried to think of his reasons. Usually, Nate didn't like to think about stuff like that. That was the problem with Blair and Chuck; they analyzed everything so much until Nate wondered if their heads didn't hurt. The amount of energy and concentration it took to notice _everything _just daunted Nate. Why not just let life happen as it happened? Take it as it came?

Maybe. But even Nate could freely admit to himself that Vanessa was his rebound from Lola, who'd been his rebound from Serena... and so on.

Now Serena loved him, loved him as much as Chuck and Blair did, perhaps even more... but last year, it had become clear that Serena had never been _in_ love with him. Not in that way.

Well, what _did _Nate want most?

"Oh, _wow!" _said Jenny, leaning forward as the chopper touched down on the helipad. "Bart, this was fun. It totally rocked!"

"Didn't it?" said Bart, not smiling, but eyes dancing with amusement. "Well, let's find our dinner. I hear from Chuck we'll be very pleased with it."

They exited the helicopter. As Nate helped Vanessa step to the ground, he heard her mimic Jenny under her breath, _"Baaart, that totally rooocked."_

"I wouldn't say too much if I were you," Nate hissed in her ear. "You're on thin ice with a lot of us right now. And you and I are going to have a long talk when we get home."

"Yeah, whatever," said Vanessa. "Let me go. I'm not going anywhere, not with all these goons Bart Bass and your grandfather have wandering around."

Nate shrugged, then looked around. There were almost thirty people milling and standing around the dock already. Everyone was there from the luncheon at Chuck and Blair's... his parents, Blair's parents and stepdads (Eleanor and Cyrus, Harold and Roman), Eric van der Woodsen and his boyfriend Alec, and himself and Vanessa. Dan's parents Rufus and Allison were there with Lily Humphrey, and Jenny rushed over to join them.

Also in attendance were loyal Dorota and Vanya, Eugenia from Bass Industries and her husband, Serena's former boss and Chuck's publicist, KC, Laurel from Waldorf Designs, as well as Nate's assistant from the Spectator. There were also former classmates from the old Constance/St. Jude's days, including Penelope Shafai and Isabel Coates, who'd just graduated two weekends before from Wellesley College. Rounding out the familiar faces was Jonathan Whitney, who was a junior at Dartmouth, a friend of their families... and Eric van der Woodsen's ex-boyfriend.

Dan had arrived, too. He stood off to the side, one of his eyes and the side of his face noticeably red. Nate wondered what had happened to him, because Dan was standing nowhere near Serena.

Serena linked arms with Nate's grandfather (who had arrived via his own chopper), and brought the powerful Vanderbilt patriarch over to where Nate stood next to Vanessa.

"Nate," said William, "how would you like to take us all out to dinner?"

"Um, I actually think I left my billfold at home."

Several people in the vicinity laughed.

"Well, I don't think you'll be needing it. Serena?"

Serena came over to Nate, grabbed his hand, and pulled him past the crowd, down to the docks of the exclusive marina, past the smaller boat slips, hurrying him down the pier to the larger slips for the mega yachts.

Nate was stunned. "Is that what I think it is?"

In response, Serena just clapped her hands, clearly excited.

He shook his head at her, and turned around to face the Vanderbilt patriarch, who'd led the others down the dock to the ship.

"Grandfather, did you actually buy me a yacht?"

"Well, a few of us might have gotten together for your graduation present. I know it's not exactly the sailboat you wanted, but we thought you'd want something that you could take out on the open sea, travel around the world. If you don't like it..."

"What do you mean, if I don't like it?" Nate was just floored. "It's a _boat_, of course I like it! What I don't get is who told you about the sailing? I haven't gone out in a couple of years..."

He looked at Serena. Grinned.

"Where are Chuck and Blair?"

"We're right here," said Blair, walking up the pier daintily in her Jimmy Choos, pushing her sunglasses up the bridge of her nose, followed by Chuck. "You can't blame me for this one, Archibald. In fact, I want to know where _my_ yacht is."

"Of course she does, that's my Blair," said Eleanor. "I taught her well."

Everyone laughed.

"All three of you have surprises coming," said Serena. "Chuck and I have been planning this evening for months. So no worries, just relax and enjoy!"

Nate was still inspecting the exterior of his boat with the biggest grin on his face.

"You guys even named it what I've always wanted to... Chuck!"

His best friend clapped him on the back, taking a bottle of champagne from Hans, and then handing it to Nate.

"I don't remember the whole poem, but I remember this part of it... 'I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.' So go ahead, Nathaniel, and christen the _Invictus."_

Nate took the bottle and whacked it on the side of the yacht, to the sound of applause.

"Thank you, everyone!" said Serena, joining her brother and friends, "Thank you for coming to celebrate Nate, Blair, and Dan's special day with us! We'll be sailing up the Hudson until we reach our destination for the evening... welcome aboard!"

"I hope we don't have to wait until we get there to eat," said Blair, waiting to step onto Nate's yacht. "I'm starving."

Blair's mother and her three dads were visibly floored by this statement. Nate was too. Since when did _Blair Waldorf _have an appetite?

"You know me better than that," Nate overheard his best friend tell his wife in a quiet aside, dropping a kiss on the top of her head. Blair smiled knowingly at Chuck in response, then curled more closely to his side.

_Those two are up to something, _thought Nate, shaking his head to himself. What was going on with them? He didn't know what it was, but they were definitely acting strangely. Nate would get to the bottom of it.

To the crowd, Chuck said, "Ladies and gentlemen, dinner will be served aboard. Please join us."

**-to be continued-**

A/N: Put down your pitchforks, lovelies! I know that I said I'd give Chuck two sections. I started to write one more scene in this chapter from his POV. But I thought we'd come to a natural break in the storytelling. At 12K words, and 34 pages (whew), I thought I'd give everyone a rest before we get on the love boat... and the fireworks begin.

I hope that the sweet taste of Chair fluff (and a tiny bit of Chair steam) will make up for my neglect of our favorite Gossip Guy. I promise to give our Chuckles the very first scene in the next chapter... which I've already begun to write. He'll get POV at least twice on the boat... because now that the ceremony and fanfare are over, Chair are starting to be Chair. *grin* You don't know how tempted I was to have them miss the boat ride until I realized, well, it's Chuck and Blair, and a _boat!_ So what if it's Nate's boat? As if they care. *grinning wider*

We'll also start clearing up the picture for the others. The night is young, and the evening's barely begun! I am calling it the love boat for a reason... we've got some major Derena drama coming up, Serenate isn't totally out of the picture, Nenny _or_ Danessa might be percolating... and did I witness Bart Bass actually _getting his flirt on? _(My, my, what _will _Rufus Humphrey have to say about this?) There will definitely be a Blair/Bart scene, also, of the "father-in-law thinks his daughter-in-law walks on water" variety.

Here's the dinner menu: an Audrey Hepburn serenade (among other music), Chate and Cherena talk, there's another epic champagne toast by a Bass, more than one of the couples gets frisky during the dinner cruise, and the clouds of Natefusion dissipate as he finally has a moment of clarity. Also, Alec may or may not get his answer, Vanessa may or may not continue to wreak havoc, and the UES may or may not be scandalous once they're floating down the Hudson on a perfect spring evening.

Shopping sprees at Bendel's and Barney's for my incredible betas, **DrGG **and **K. **DrGG's just posted the latest chapter of her amazing fic "We Can Build Our Futures Together." Go read the Chair goodness! Breakfast at Tiffany's _and_ Harry Winston for the very awesome **Maribells**, whom I fangirl so very much, who wrote me meaty reviews and provided some great advice to a newbie, as well as the incomparable **Maryl**, who actually favorited my fic (!) and sent encouraging PMs. (Thanks to all of you who are favoriting and who have put the story on alert – you know who you are.)

Drinks and tapas at The Oak Bar, then dinner reservations at Butter, for my Chapter 2 reviewers as of the time of this posting: **88Mary88, Miss. Anonymous Reader, lilyeyi, SaNaa.91, NoFate2608, Maribells, ChrysX, Laura, olimgossip, CBfanhere, chairio, Krazy4Spike, notoutforawalk, Xoxo, Reader, yahaira, , maryl, pty, Trosev, Bfan, Anna, Dede, Shallindra, sallysally, LowerCase32, 24hourscout, LunaSeasMoonChild, bonafide11, moe, BikerChick101, jojo.4ever, **and **DrGG**.

I have a Twitter now! You can follow me at **DrHolland_GG** – and I'll follow you back!

Once again, I'm floored by the reception for my little story! Chair fans, GG fandom, you are truly epic. I hope to update again very soon... this has been the Best Week Ever for Chair fans (5x22 promo & producer's preview, 5x24 finale title, EL in China promoting HW, and the news that there'll be another showrunner for the final season).

Until then, _you know you love me_... and _I will always love you!_

XOXO, Dr. Holland


	4. Evening, Part 2

**POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE**

**Summary:** One year after the events of Season 5, it's college graduation day for Nate Archibald, Dan Humphrey... and Blair Waldorf Bass. Serena and Chuck are planning a celebration to remember. Everyone's back in town, including Eric, Jenny, and Vanessa. Even in adulthood, the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite are still scandalous! A Chair centric, post-Dair fic. (AU after 5x19, with a few late season 5 spoilers.)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in the Gossip Girl universe, not even (sadly) Chuck or Nate. Major props to Cecily von Ziegesar, the CW, the producers, actors, and crew, and everyone involved with bringing these amazing characters to life.

**Chapter 4 – Evening (Part 2)**

May 2013, aboard the _Invictus_.

_**Chuck**_

It was perfect boating weather, thought Chuck as he closed the cabin door behind his napping wife. When he and Serena first started talking about what they'd do for graduation, one of their worries was that it would rain or be too cold on the Hudson for this date in May.

But he should have known that this celebration would go off without a hitch. If there was one thing that Chuck Bass knew besides money, the pleasures that money could buy, and Blair, it was how to show people a great time.

Ever since he could remember, even during his worst days, Chuck had always enjoyed a good party. Now, his Blair was widely acclaimed for being a young hostess without peer (absolutely deserved, in Chuck's opinion), but she often told him that he was more than her match. From the Lost Weekends and Victrola during his high school years, to the wild Prohibition costume party at Gimlet and the Saints and Sinners' ball at the Empire, Chuck had made his mark in the social world before he left his teens. Now that he and Blair were a team, everyone who was anyone in New York, in the business and political worlds, and many celebrities were clamoring for invitations to their events.

All of their best parties had their genesis in pillow talk, generally before or after sex. A few years before, they'd planned the Saints and Sinners Ball and a Girls, Inc. tea during a hot afternoon lovemaking session. Although Vanessa, Juliet, and Jenny had sabotaged both events, they learned it _was _the best way to come up with ideas.

"You once observed that we bonded over a mutual love of scheming and burlesque," he told her after lunch in his office at Bass Industries a few days after their final wedding reception at Victrola.

"Did I really?" she said, coming around the conference table to stand in front of him. Eyes on fire.

"Yes, you did," he grated out as she came on her knees before him, fingers twining through her beautiful dark tresses as she unzipped him and leaned down. "The way I see it, we might as well live up to our rep..."

He never finished his sentence. (Because it was a crime for a mouth that fucking _hot_ and _sweet_, and lips so fucking _sexy _and _red_, to wrap around _him _like that. In the middle of the day. In his _office_. With the door closed, but _not _locked. Fuck... he could almost spill at the _memory _of it.)

So for the Basses, sex and party planning typically went hand in hand... and their events had been as wildly successful and satisfying as their love life.

First, there were their receptions (Blair: "it's like we had three weddings!"), followed by the Autumn Ball that inaugurated the Bass Foundation (their first charity event as a married couple), Blair's 22nd birthday party (their first event at their brand-new penthouse), the superstar-studded affair they'd thrown at the Empire on New Year's Eve (still being talked about five months later), the Valentine's Day soiree for Eleanor Waldorf Designs ("the crowning event of 2013's Fall/Winter Fashion Week," as Anna Wintour and Andre Leon Talley raved), and the Spring Charity Ball ("... all done with the impeccable taste, the exclusive guest list, and the exquisite attention to detail that are fast becoming the signature of any event sponsored by Chuck and Blair Bass" – _New York _Magazine).

Already, Eugenia at Bass Industries was being flooded with subtle and not-so-subtle requests for invitations to their clambake in the Hamptons. (What was originally intended as an event for just their family and friends was quickly turning into something much larger.)

"You and Blair really need to hire someone, Chuck," she'd told him just the week before, wearily passing on a stack of messages when he came into the office. "You're well beyond the point of needing staff of your own. And, by the way, _Gotham _really wants you two on the September cover, says they'll do whatever you want to make it happen."

It would be their fourth magazine cover since marrying. _New York _had nabbed them for their September 2012 issue ("Beauty and the Bass"), and the other city mags soon followed. The one that Chuck was most proud of, though, was the feature that _Forbes _magazine had done for their June 2013 issue: _The Fall and Rise of the House of Bass. _In the cover photo, the two of them had been joined by Bart, whose story had been recounted everywhere from _The Economist _to _The Wall Street Journal. _

The public just couldn't get enough of them. If high society was gradually acknowledging the young couple's growing social dominance, ordinary people were devouring the tale of Bart's death and return, of young Chuck picking up the reins of an international company, faltering, almost losing everything, then triumphing, and of Blair transforming from disgraced princess bride (the Monegasque press _still _saw her as the worst kind of woman - although the rest of Europe had softened, Chuck observed it would be a long time before they would be welcomed in Monte Carlo) to the lady love and life partner of a dark industrialist prince.

For a time in the fall, things had gotten a little crazy with paparazzi. After a while, they grew tired of watching Blair studying and sitting in classes at Columbia, and Chuck going in and out of buildings. By Christmas, the Basses were usually only photographed in conjunction with one of their events, or if the fashion magazines were raving about something one of them had on. With the one year anniversary of Bart's shocking return coming up, and the _Forbes _cover story, they would be in the news again. (Thankfully, they would be in the Hamptons by the time the issue hit newsstands.)

Still, they'd put off hiring anyone. First, it was because Blair would be in New Haven for the next few years. Then, it was because Blair thought they should start toning things down if they were going to become parents.

But it was mainly because they didn't want to give up the magic of planning things together.

"Maybe she's right, Chuck," Blair had told him when he relayed Eugenia's opinion to her just the day before, just as they were expecting Eric's arrival. They had been sitting on their terrace, enjoying the view, their dog Monkey, and each other's company now that finals were over and he wasn't traveling.

"About hiring people? To come up with the ideas for _our _events? Why would we do that?"

"Lily said at brunch the other day that we're going to _collapse_ at this rate. I've been taking course overloads and you're working eighty hour weeks. We're hosting events every other month, all while accepting every worthwhile invitation that we receive. Lily is of the opinion that we're going to crash and burn if we keep this up... and she doesn't even know about the baby yet," Blair pointed out.

"If we hire event planners, Blair, it won't be the same," he said, enjoying the way her signature scent filled his senses as he dropped a kiss on her shoulder. (Her skin was always so _amazing_ beneath his lips... if anyone _truly _knew how addicted he was to his wife's soft, fragrant, _sexy _flawless body... how much she turned him on, how much he enjoyed _tasting_ her, licking, biting... well, they'd probably lock him away.)

"We can train people, Chuck," she said, then whistled so that Monkey, who had grown tired of lapping at his water dish, would join them on the chaise lounge nearest the roof's edge. The dog leaped onto the cushion next to them, accepting Chuck's pat as he lapped Blair's hand.

"We'll never be able to train people to see things the way that we do. We've been doing this since our teens, and each time, we get better. Tell me that anyone else in this city can put together an event... or an _experience..._ the way that you and I can."

She smirked. "You know I can't. We've conquered New York, and we're not even 25 yet... what's next, the world by 30?" And she leaned back to kiss him.

He returned the favor. "Of course. And actually, I'd give us until 27. Five years, that's all we'll need."

Sigh. "This year has been one crazy ride, Bass."

"We wouldn't have had it any other way, Mrs. Bass."

"Oh, I know. And it's been so much fun... mmm," she said as their noses touched before they kissed again. Monkey barked, then seeing that his master and lady were not paying him any attention (again), leaped down from the seat to amuse himself by scattering the birds that were pilfering away his dog food.

"So you agree with me," he said when they finally broke apart.

"I do. All the same, Chuck, at the very least we ought to consider a social secretary. There are only so many hours in the day, and I won't have people thinking that I'm an irresponsible mother." She frowned, then cupped his face in her hands. "Besides, as much as I enjoy our grand affairs, sometimes I miss having parties where it's just the people we know best."

Chuck thought about that conversation as he walked down the hall on the first floor below decks. When William Vanderbilt had called Chuck to ask about a graduation present suitable for his grandson and heir, it seemed like a perfect opportunity to plan something smaller in scale.

What better place to have a party than on a yacht? During the dark days of Blair's engagement and short-lived marriage to the Frog Prince (Chuck's private label for Louis), some of the only good times he'd had were with Nate and Serena on that yacht in California. Nate loved boats and always had, often sailing with his Vanderbilt cousins during summer weekends on Cape Cod when he was younger. He often told Chuck, Blair, and Serena that he wanted to sail around the world after high school graduation... which thanks to his internship and backpacking trip after St. Jude's, became "after college graduation."

Chuck sincerely hoped that Nate would take that trip. He'd planned to travel with his best friend during one leg of it, but Blair's pregnancy had changed all that. He had only been out of town once since she told him, for a quick meeting in Seattle, but he hadn't slept well the entire time he was away from her.

Until their baby was safely delivered into their arms, Chuck didn't plan to let Blair too far out of his sight.

Planning with Serena had been both frustrating and fun. Serena was the opposite of Blair. While Blair could read his mind, finish his thoughts, and take an idea and run with it, Serena was generally clueless. She'd agreed that they should all chip in for Nate's yacht, but had trouble understanding _why _they couldn't fly everyone to Florida and surprise their friend with the yacht in sunny Miami or Fort Lauderdale.

"Because that will take too long, and they'll figure it all out," Chuck explained to his sister, very patiently, instead of snarking. (He figured it was good practice for fatherhood.) "We need to make them think we're going to dinner somewhere, and then take them to the boat."

"So where's dinner going to be, Chuck? That doesn't make sense. How can we get from a boat to the best restaurants? The marinas aren't even in the best part of the city..."

That was how things had gone _all spring. _Talk about training an acolyte.

Walking up the stairs to the deck, Chuck admired the quality of the yacht. He'd put up half of the purchase price, but all of the families had chipped in for Nate's gift, and they'd gotten a very good deal at auction. Although he knew his best friend preferred to sail, Nate had his boating license and with a small crew could easily get to anywhere in the world where there were sailboats to rent. With a dozen cabins, a spacious main deck, two lounges, a bar and hot tub on the top deck, and a beautiful mahogany great room, it would be perfect for entertaining or business.

Just as he rounded the corner, shielding his eyes as they adjusted to the evening sunlight, Chuck ran into Jenny Humphrey.

So Jenny was the one girl from his past that Chuck regretted. When he'd first noticed her at a party when she was fourteen and he was sixteen, Chuck had been in a "blonde" phase after Nate had idly observed the summer before, "You really like brunettes, don't you?" Chuck, not willing to accept back then that he preferred _anything _other than "female" and "willing," started to actively pursue redheads, then blondes. Jenny had just been another blonde face in the crowd, pretty and seemingly available.

It had been a terrible mistake. He wasn't a rapist, but he'd mistaken her naïve excitement over an older boy as a sign that she was up for anything. Not only had that led to his first encounter with Humphrey, he'd fallen prey to Jenny _again _after growing irritated by Blair's tiresome fixation on getting Nate to find her at a masquerade ball. He looked, once again, for a girl who was nothing like his _frustrating _childhood friend... and ended up getting played by the freshman from Brooklyn.

After that, every time Chuck had to interact with Jenny, it was awkward. Even after Lily married Rufus, and they were technically stepsiblings, it was awkward. It was awkward when he saved her from that slimy Damien's drug deal, and it was awkward when they schemed with the rest of the gang to uncover whatever William van der Woodsen was hiding about Lily's condition.

He didn't like to think about the night that he'd slept with her. That was one of the worst nights of his life. He'd been mourning the loss of Blair, who hadn't come to the Empire State Building, just like she assured him she wouldn't. Jenny had been upset over Nate. Drunk, lonely, and feeling like shit...

...they'd slept together. Both of them had regretted it the second it happened. He could see it on her face... and he _knew _she could see it on his.

Even though he'd interacted with her a couple of times since that night, Chuck didn't think he'd ever run into Jenny Humphrey and it not be awkward.

"Hey, Chuck." Her face was unreadable... but not contemptuous.

Well. Maybe things _could _change. Could they?

"Hey," he said, guard up. "Having fun?"

"Yeah, actually I am. This yacht is pretty amazing. The crew showed Nate around, and we all followed him. At first, he said it was all too much. But I think he's starting to really like it, and so do I."

"I'm pleased that you enjoyed the grand tour. Are the guests gathering on the deck yet?"

"Yeah, everyone's enjoying the music and the appetizers. I've never heard of Melody Gardot before. I'll have to head to iTunes, check her out." She looked over his shoulder. "Where's Blair? I wanted to thank her for... you know, being okay with me being here."

"She'll be at dinner, you can thank her then," Chuck said, starting to relax. "And... we couldn't very well have done without you, could we, now?"

Jenny smiled. A real, genuine smile.

"Thanks. I'm really enjoying my day. And Chuck, I... didn't get the chance to say it when it happened, but congratulations on your marriage. You and Blair are perfect for each other. It's good that you two figured things out."

Chuck cracked a half smile, looking down at his folded arms. "We appreciated the card and gift that you sent. Your mother is talented. Her painting hangs in our upstairs foyer."

"Really? I didn't know if you'd like it. Mom gave me a number of pieces to choose from, but I just wasn't sure..."

"It was very much us," he said. "You chose well."

He paused, sincerely wanting to say the other thing that was on his mind, but too afraid of upsetting her. Or having his meaning misconstrued.

Still, he and Blair were about to introduce a brand new life into their dysfunctional Upper East Side cluster of an extended family. Rufus and Lily weren't divorcing any time soon, and Lily would be the only paternal grandmother their baby would ever know. Might as well try to smooth things over with at least one of the Humphreys... it was the right thing to do.

"Blair and I would like to have you over for dinner at the penthouse during your next visit. So that you can see where we put it."

Jenny's smile didn't falter.

"Sure. That'd be great. I'd love to."

Chuck felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He'd thought he had tainted their strange stepfamily forever by what he'd done to (and with) Jenny. It seemed as if she was over it. And willing to let bygones be bygones.

"You're welcome any time."

"Eric says your new place is amazing. Maybe sometime when I'm back during the holidays." She looked past him, peering into the hallway visible past the stairs. "So Nate told us there are some cabins down here just in case we want to freshen up. I mean, I didn't bring anything, I just wish I'd known that we..."

"Feel free to freshen up. Your suitcase is here."

Jenny blinked. "What?"

Chuck laughed inwardly. He'd had this conversation a dozen times since coming aboard a half hour ago. (The next time they planned something like this, he'd just put together brochures.)

"During the graduations, we had staff at the respective households pack and bring luggage on board. So everything that you left at Lily's is in your cabin, along with some other things we procured for everyone. We won't be back to the city until mid-morning, but I trust that you'll find your accommodations comfortable until then..."

Jenny shook her head. "Wow, that's amazing, Chuck! Thank you."

"There's a clipboard on the table near the bottom of the stairs with the cabin assignments... keys are in the drawer. Enjoy and make yourself at home."

"I certainly will," said Jenny.

Just then, Serena appeared just behind Jenny. "Chuck, there you are! I've been looking all over for you..."

"Hey, Serena! Guess I'll see you guys at dinner then. This really is some party. I appreciate being included. I really mean it," she added, seeming genuinely grateful.

Serena looked past Chuck as Jenny ambled down the stairs. "Was that actually _Jenny Humphrey _acting like a normal person? Wonder what's in the water over there in London?"

"Perhaps being away from the Upper East Side did her a world of good. I'm sure that says something about all of us, but I'll save the self analysis until the party is over." He shook his head, then looked at his sister. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm... holding. It's what I have to do. The party must go on."

"So it must," acknowledged Chuck, then lowered his voice. "Just say the word, sis, and we'll maroon him. He can swim back to Brooklyn for all I care."

Serena sighed. "Let's just go up and enjoy the music. I'm so psyched that we were able to book everyone that we wanted to come."

They walked up the stairs together, once again the perfect host and hostess. As soon as they emerged onto the main deck, the photographer hired to document the event snapped their picture, followed by the one sent by _Vanity Fair _(who had been granted an exclusive, deterring annoying paparazzi on waterskis). Waving at everyone, the siblings made the rounds of the main deck, stopping to talk with their parents and family friends, but soon found themselves alone on the topmost deck.

The top deck afforded one a spectacular view of the river. The space was intimate, with room for no more than six to eight people. At one end was a bar; at the other, a hot tub. Glancing at the hot tub, Chuck decided that he'd definitely bring Blair up for a soak before breakfast the next morning. After looking around, he joined Serena at the railing to peer down onto the main deck below.

The first artist they'd hired was young jazz singer Melody Gardot, whose last album had debuted right around the time of Chuck and Blair's reunion, about a month before they married. She and her band were in the midst of performing a song, "Amalia," that Blair really liked.

_Maybe fate, maybe reason_

_Made you fall from the sky_

_Like the tides, like the seasons_

_Ever changing, you and I..._

_So where do you go when worry takes you?_

_Where do you go when somebody makes you cry? _

It was too bad that she was asleep and would miss it, Chuck thought. Well, she'd like the surprise they had in store for her when she was done with her nap.

Serena had taken a glass of champagne, but Chuck had refused the offerings of three strolling waiters in a row, choosing to take a water bottle.

"Glad we didn't run into Dan," she said. "Chuck, what's going on? Why aren't you drinking?"

"I'm hosting a party, sis. I've got to maintain my focus."

Serena just looked at him.

"Chuck, you told us that Blair was sleeping on the way to the marina, and that's why you were late..."

"No, that's not why." And he waggled his eyebrows.

"Oh, my God. I think you two get some sick pleasure out of disclosing the intimate details of your sex life."

"We wouldn't share if your reactions weren't so priceless." He looked out over the open water, surveying the evening panorama. "This is a great boat. Talk about a lucky fire sale."

"Yeah, there's no way that Nate's grandfather would have gone for what these things usually cost. Remember he told us that he thought superyachts were so 'new money'? I'm glad that crooked Russian financier what-his-face's assets were liquidated... we got our tacky 'nouveau riche' vessel for Natie after all!"

"They could have just blamed it all on me, high society's favorite nouveau riche scapegoat," said Chuck. "Although I'm never tacky... the old guard should be grateful to Bart Bass for siring me, then providing me with the wealth to improve their stodgy tastes."

"And for being the most modest billionaire under 30 in the world, I'm sure," Serena quipped.

"But of course, sis. Everyone knows that Chuck Bass is the most humble of men." They both laughed. "You'll have to help me convince Nate to take his new toy over to the Mediterranean this summer."

"Just Nate?" said Serena, slanting a glance his way. "I think we all should go! The original awesome foursome... you and Blair, me and Nate. We'd have a great time."

"Well, I'm not sure that Blair and I will be traveling much."

"Why?"

"We've been so busy lately..."

"_Chuck!_ I can't believe that you're refusing to tell me!"

He had his best poker face on. "Tell you what?"

"That you guys are _pregnant," _Serena declared triumphantly. "Don't even try to deny it."

"_Blair. _Did she..."

"No, she didn't tell me. She didn't have to. I _guessed_. And Chuck, between the eating, the sleeping, and the fact that she's starting to _look _pregnant, everyone who knows Blair is going to guess as soon as they put two and two together. So you might as well tell everyone."

Sigh. "We're going to announce it after dinner tonight."

Serena punched his shoulder. "I think it's the best news I've heard in a while, _Dad. _I couldn't be more excited._"_

"We couldn't either, sis. To say the least. It's been a long road for us..."

"But everyone who knows and loves you two knew that you'd work it out in the end. There's no one else for you but each other." She trailed off. "I don't think people believe the same about me and Dan."

Chuck didn't say anything.

"I know you don't like him, Chuck. You've never really liked him. But there's no one else for me..."

"What about Nate?"

Her voice came out in a near whisper. "Nate... oh, Chuck, I wish that I could forget Dan and just love him. It'd be perfect. And Nate's wonderful. He's such a good friend and lover..."

"Yes, I can vouch for the 'friend' half of that. The lover part, no, because Blair would kill us both." He turned away from the water to lean back against the railing. "So what's the problem?"

"Why didn't you marry Eva instead of Blair?" asked Serena. "_That's _my problem."

"I see," Chuck said slowly. "So..."

"Dan's it for me. At least, right now, he is. Maybe someday I'll get over him, but I haven't in nearly six years. I'm so embarrassed! Why can't I shake him, Chuck? He's a pompous, judgmental, hypocritical _ass..."_

"Correction, sis. He's a pompous, judgmental, hypocritical ass without a dime to his name."

"I don't care about his money, and for all your talk, neither do you, Chuck. Some of the people you value most and _hire _are self-made people like your father." Serena sighed. "You treat Blair as if she's the most precious thing in the world while Dan treats me like trash. Dan hurts me on purpose, Chuck. Only... only a masochist would love someone that... that _narcissistic_."

"Sounds familiar," said Chuck, frowning. "Go on."

"I've always loved Dan, but ever since I told him about the Pete Fairman incident, he's never looked at me the same. At his worst, he acts as if I'm some kind of cheap slut beneath his consideration. Every time, I've chosen him and only him. Still, he dumped me after Georgie pulled her stunts junior year, even though _I _was faithful and it was _her _jaws locked around his..."

"Please, enough with the detail." Chuck shuddered. Georgina Sparks _disgusted _him. Part of the reason for his early womanizing was from trying to wipe away the memory of that freak.

"He dumped me again when we had the citywide blackout, just because he was angry over the fact that _I _lived in the building. Then, I wouldn't have dated Aaron Rose if he'd asked me not to. He _slept _with Miss Carr just when I thought we were going to get back together. Then he went to NYU and forgot all about me... until we fell back in together during the time we were scheming to figure out what Dad had done to Mom. Then he got so angry with me because I couldn't decide between him and Nate... and then, he went after _my best friend." _Her eyes filled with tears. "What did I do to make him hate me, Chuck?"

Unlike most men, it didn't bother him when girls and women cried. Nate would go nuts, and would do anything to get them to stop the tears, but Chuck, never having known the love of a maternal figure growing up, didn't have any such ingrained associations.

After everything he'd been through with the little brunette sleeping in one of the master suites below decks, he _knew _that men cried, too.

Feeling at a loss, he rested a hand on her shoulder.

"Humphrey doesn't hate you, sis. He loves you. As much as I hate to say it, as much as I wish he didn't, he does. But it scares the living fuck out of him. So naturally, the cretin is pretending to everyone and himself that you don't mean a thing to him. Everything he did, including going after Blair, was to avoid _you._" He leaned toward her so that he could whisper in her ear. "Lonely Boy hasn't gotten the memo yet that it doesn't work. Never has, never will."

Serena, wiping her eyes, turned to look at him.

"But _Inside..."_

"As one of the few who read the entire book and not just the parts about me, let me assure you that Sabrina's not you. Sabrina is all Dan's reasons why he shouldn't be in love with you... just as Clair is all his imagined reasons why he thinks _I'm _in love with Blair. But Clair is not my Blair, as she learned when she tried to play that role last year." He smirked. "And Dylan would kick Dan Humphrey's ass."

On the deck below, Melody Gardot finished her number, and the group applauded. She then began her signature song.

_How was I to know that this was always only just a little game to you?_

_All the time I thought you gave your heart_

_I thought that I would do the same for you_

_Tell the truth, I think I should have seen it coming_

_From a mile away, when the words you say are_

_Baby, I'm a fool who thinks it's cool to fall in love._

The van der Bass siblings leaned against the railing, side by side in the evening breeze, listening, Serena sipping her champagne, Chuck lost in thought.

_If I gave a thought to fascination, I would know it wasn't right to care_

_Logic doesn't seem to mind that I am fascinated by your love affair_

_Still, my heart would benefit from a little tenderness from time to time –_

_But never mind._

'_Cause baby, I'm a fool who thinks it's cool to fall in love._

"What am I supposed to do, Chuck?" she said finally. "I don't want to be with him, but I can't shake him. He's terrible for me."

"What did you tell Blair to do when she told you the same thing?"

Serena sighed. "Everything you're telling me now. I told her that you'd come around, and that she couldn't deny that she was in love with you."

"Then, as much as I loathe him, as much as I would rather _not_ spend the next half century's worth of family dinners looking at his shaggy haircut and dopey face, I am telling you the same thing that you told her." He set the water bottle down. "I'm going to check on Blair... will you be all right?"

Serena stared at him, then nodded once. Just as he turned, and was going to walk away, she grabbed his hand and squeezed it.

Chuck squeezed back.

Nothing else needed to be said.

_**Blair**_

The first thing that Blair thought of when she came to after her catnap was that she wished that she'd put her face mask on. Bright light immediately upon awakening always gave her a headache, and of course, her husband hadn't remembered to shutter the porthole... which wasn't like him. He liked to sleep in the dark as much as she did.

She stretched, annoyance fading when she looked around and didn't see any sign of Chuck. A faint pang of longing went through her, as it always did whenever she opened her eyes and didn't see the man she loved either right there in bed with her or somewhere in the room.

Well, thanks to him, Blair really _wasn't_ alone. She sat up, placing a hand instinctively on her midriff.

"Hi, little one," she murmured softly to her child. "You're making Mommy really sleepy today. I know we've had a lot of excitement, because it's such a special day. We know that you can move your hands this week... are you in there applauding for my graduation? I can't wait until I can feel you kick!"

Even though they'd tried to keep things quiet, Blair had followed every single aspect of her pregnancy from her first missed cycle. She was almost sure that they'd conceived the night of (or the day after) the Valentine's Day soiree. Chuck had treated her to a long weekend in Paris, but other than the food and the view from their window, they may as well have stayed in New York, because they didn't leave the hotel. They'd been so busy until it was time to reconnect with each other... and oh, did they ever.

Blair had missed her cycle at the end of February, but again, thought that it was stress related. Still, she'd felt flutters of excitement when she'd ordered a pregnancy test online and had it delivered in an unmarked package to the front desk of their building. (If she couldn't buy a test in a drugstore in high school, there was no way she was going to do it as Blair Waldorf Bass.)

All three tests that she'd taken had been positive. Blair knew that she was pregnant. Although they hadn't been specifically trying for a baby, Blair was elated. She couldn't wait to tell Chuck...

...who came home after she'd fallen asleep. And who'd obviously been tired too, because most of the time, he'd wake her just so she'd know he was there.

That was the morning he caught her in the bathroom. It was her very first bout with morning sickness, not what he'd feared. They'd spent the rest of the day making love and making all kinds of plans for their future together.

One of the things they'd enjoyed doing all spring was texting each other about the baby's developmental progress, or referring to it obliquely during conversations when no one else knew what they were talking about. So the month before, they'd spent a entire week texting "#hiccup" on the back of their DMs to each other. The next week, when they read that the baby could now yawn, they teased each other and Dorota with it.

"What's the matter, Mrs. Blair?" asked Dorota one April morning at breakfast. "You sleepy but do not wish for coffee?"

"I don't know what you're talking about, Dorota," said Blair, feeding her husband the last bit of an éclair... eyeing him significantly... then yawning into her sleeve.

"You did it again! Mrs. Blair, you need coffee. You have long day at school. I tell Xavier to make fresh pot."

"While I'm sure she appreciates the concern, Dorota," said Chuck, taking a sip from his own cup before going back to the éclair, "perhaps Mrs. Blair just wants to lighten up on the caffeine for a while. There's nothing wrong with that."

"Of course not, Mister Chuck. I just worry. You both working so very hard..."

Blair wasn't as diplomatic as her husband was when speaking to her nanny, maid, and friend.

"More juice, Dorota! Stop clucking like a hen and go squeeze some oranges."

The second Dorota returned to the kitchen, Chuck licked the last of the éclair's cream from his wife's fingers...

...and then opened his mouth in an exaggerated, teasing _yawn._

Blair giggled, swatting him. Chuck smirked and resumed reading the _Wall Street Journal_.

It was now mid-May, which meant now their baby could move his hands and feet and limbs, as well as turn his head from side to side. So he was in there moving around, but he wasn't yet big enough for them to feel any movement. Chuck diligently felt and listened every night, putting his ear against her middle, talking to the baby.

"I'm going to feel this baby kick before you do, Mrs. Bass," he said the night before graduation, ear to her belly.

She stroked his sideburn and ear. "Impossible, Bass. After all, it's _my _oven he's baking in..."

At her words, he slid up her body, then rolled her over to settle on top of him. Again.

"Language, Blair," he growled into her ear, sliding into her up to the hilt, deep and hard. "What kind of _proper _society matron talks like that?"

Blair, speechless, moaned into the dark.

Was there ever a secret so sweet? Blair thought that the first year of her marriage had exceeded anything she could have ever imagined for the movie playing in her head. She was so in love with Chuck, and he'd made all of her dreams come true. She was looking forward to spending the rest of their lives together.

Swinging her feet over the side of the bed, she belted Chuck's robe more tightly around herself and looked out of the porthole. They were away from the city now, slowly traveling up the Hudson. Blair couldn't remember the last time she'd been this way. It wasn't the most picturesque view on the planet (although the spring foliage that lined the river was beautiful), but it was certainly nice to be away from the heat of the city on this unusually warm spring evening.

Walking over to the closet, Blair was interested to see what her husband had chosen for her. Since this had been a surprise, she'd had no time to pack or prepare, but such was her life as Chuck's wife... he'd done this before, and she trusted his taste. There were five garment bags, labeled with her husband's monogrammed notes: "Dinner." "Drinks and Dessert." "Playtime." "Breakfast." "Back to NYC."

Blair opened the garment bag labeled "Dinner." Inside she found a deep blue nautical dress by Alexander McQueen with white detailing and brass buttons, perfectly fitted for her ("Sometimes I wonder about you, Bass," she'd told him back when he'd bought her a dress for their Spring Gala before she'd even had the chance to go shopping. "I've never heard of a man who likes to play dress-up as much as you do. Did you play with dolls while you were growing up?" "I may have had one or two 'figurines' that my father procured during his travels, neither of which were _Cabbage Patch Dolls_.")

Along with the dress, there were her favorite pair of LK Bennett nude pumps... and a barely there, translucent silk bra-and-panty set from Eres. Blair lifted up the bra, placing her fingers inside the cup. Her red manicure could be clearly seen through the thin fabric.

She smiled wickedly to herself as the heat rushed to her core. Again. All it took was for her to imagine Chuck's eyes when he peeled away that _very tasteful_ dress and saw her in his latest addition to her lingerie cache. It hadn't been four hours since her husband's wicked tongue and fingers had been all over her, but she was aroused again_. _ She'd only had him inside her for a few minutes total today, at home during the luncheon, and then at Hamilton House... and dammit, it was _not enough!_

(The only thing stopping Blair from writing an ode to her husband's Bassets was social decorum. But if she had her way, _that part_ of him would have its own national holiday.)

_Talk about raging hormones,_ thought Blair, shrugging off Chuck's robe and placing it on a velvet hanger. Where _was_ he, anyway? How convenient of Nate's boat, to provide them with a room...

...and other places to play.

Maybe Serena was right, Blair reflected as she dressed. Maybe they _did _do it too much. Blair wasn't sure what was normal, since Chuck had been her first... but all the other men she'd been with had been stunned (and not always pleased) by her appetite. They were confounded by her aggression and fondness for rough play. They pushed her away, blaming her for the sex not being what they expected.

Blair didn't like being treated like a pretty princess _all the time._ Just because she was a well-bred young lady and came from a family of means didn't mean that she was a porcelain doll to be looked at and not _touched. _ She loved being treasured and pampered outside of the bedroom, but inside of it (and er, perhaps other locations), Blair wanted it fast and hot, slow and neverending, rough and hard, playful and exciting... and as much of it as possible. She enjoyed sex, had a healthy sexual appetite (okay, maybe "healthy" was too weak of a descriptor), and expected, no, _demanded _satisfaction from her partner.

Chuck had given her that and so much more. He so completely satisfied her that it was impossible to accept substitutes. Between Nate and Marcus, Carter and Dan, and especially Louis, Blair Waldorf had learned the hard lesson that no one was quite like Chuck Bass. _No one._

But after everything that had gone wrong with Chuck and his uncle during the Empire swindle three years before, Blair had believed that Chuck's... _Bassets... _had somehow scrambled her brains. Their post-truce 'hate sex' confirmed that, and frightened her badly, which was why she decided not to resume a relationship with him. Instead of being secretly thrilled by the special alchemy they had together, Blair started to view it in the same light as a shameful drug habit.

_It's not normal, _she'd scolded herself back then. _What kind of woman craves sex this much? Certainly not powerful or successful ones. I need to have more discipline, control these urges. I'm determined to chuck Chuck if it's the last thing I do._

Blair reflected as she brushed her hair. Neither Louis nor Dan had been exactly _awful _in bed (well, Dan had been terrible at first, and never earthshaking afterward) but Louis was particularly attentive, and did his very best to make her feel beautiful and treasured.

_I can learn to be satisfied with someone else..._

But she wasn't. Not with any other man. Because there was _always_ something missing with every other man she'd been with. None of them smelled like Clive Christian cologne, combined with the 'natural musk' she'd snarked to Serena about long ago. (Was there any better scent in the world?) None of them tasted like Scotch, sin, and midnight. None of them felt like their bodies were made to mold to hers (furred chest made for her breasts to crush tightly against, turning her nipples into rock-hard pebbles... low-slung waist and perfect ass made for her legs to wrap tightly around... his _Bassets _stretching her and filling her to the limit, almost _too_ much_)._

And none of them had Chuck's wicked _voice_. Her husband was already good enough in bed; no narration necessary. But he always talked to her while they made love, whether for five minutes or five days. (That was when they'd first reunited... Blair hadn't worn a stitch beyond a towel or a bathrobe for the better part of a week_._)

He had all kinds of names for her that he only used during sex. Outside of the bedroom, 'Waldorf' had been replaced by 'beautiful' and 'Mrs. Bass." But inside of it... or wherever else they were?

_Kitten. Vixen. Minx. _ Many others that made Blair _wet_ just remembering them, especially during role playing. And when he was being especially tender, _Baby._

He said whatever came to mind in that incredible, deep voice of his. He said dirty, sweet, borderline perverse, and romantic things during the act, during _her _orgasm, during _his _orgasm, during the afterglow, and then again... and he wouldn't let her just listen, either. Her voice never failed to make him white hot, too, so he drew her out.

_I love it when you talk dirty to me, baby... yes, that's it... now, why don't you describe that to me in detail... while you keep doing _that_... _

"Bass, why don't you ever shut up in bed?" she'd asked him once during the year they were together after high school, as he was branding her skin with his tongue. "You don't talk nearly this much outside of it."

"I don't like to waste words," he mumbled against the smooth skin of her arm. "But when I'm with you, it's never a waste. I'm still trying to find the words to describe you... and what you do to me." His teeth scraped the sensitive skin on the inside of her elbow, gently teasing her, and coherent thoughts flew completely out of Blair's head. "Maybe if I keep talking, I'll figure it out."

Oh, he was _so effing_ good, she reflected, applying her lipstick, then a coat of glossy sealer. She could never tell him that outside of the throes of passion, because his head was already big enough, the Basstard. After all, the first time they'd made love_, _all she could think about when he dropped her off at the Waldorf penthouse was _Oh, my effing God, that was incredible!_ (Six years later, there were still random moments when Blair was struck with awe that _anything _could feel like that.)

Chuck had ruined her for any other man just as surely as she _knew _she'd ruined him for any other woman. It gave Blair a secret thrill that a man who'd sampled so many of the world's finest women had been knocked off his feet by _her._

She knew that Serena and their other close friends and family thought their sex life was excessive, even ridiculous. Blair and Chuck rarely joked about it to anyone other than Serena or Nate, but as with many things about the Basses, their reputations preceded them.

Blair didn't care what they thought. What was wrong with being physically affectionate with one's soulmate? Instead of criticizing them, maybe they should be taking notes!

As if on cue, a knock sounded on the door. _Yes! He used to always say that timing wasn't our strong suit... well for the past year, we've been proving the lie to that one!_

"Come in!" she said, wishing she hadn't dressed so quickly.

The door swung open to reveal a Bass, but not the one she was most longing for. Nonetheless, she shifted modes quickly, cooling down, and smiled at her father-in-law.

"Hello, Bart," she said. "Did Chuck send you down to wake me up?"

"Yes," he replied, closing the door behind him. "He's running around playing the host. I told him that I wanted to check on you, see how you're feeling."

Blair sighed. She beckoned for him to take a seat in the armchair nearest the door, then perched herself on the edge of the bed.

"Bart, Chuck told me that you know our good news."

"I do. While I realize that you wanted to keep it to yourselves, it's something that I needed to know sooner rather than later."

"Well, I'm glad you know. I'm sure my parents will be thrilled, but Bart, I'm so happy that we're giving _you_ a grandchild. A Bass heir." She winked at him. "The dynasty is secured."

Bart, who was famous for his smileless visage, cracked a smile at his daughter-in-law just then.

"You know," he said brusquely, "I never thought he'd be able to win you over. He's always been in love with you, but I didn't think he had a snowball's chance in hell."

Headshake. "We've had this conversation before, Bart. Chuck swears that he had no designs on me in childhood, and I believe him."

"He's lying. I know he thinks that because we didn't talk that I didn't pay any attention to him. And yes, I was quite busy during your formative years. But I remember enough. He's been smitten with you for as long as he's known you." He folded his arms. "I just assumed that he'd mess things up, and that Howard Archibald would be calling you 'daughter' someday. But he certainly proved me wrong."

"You are his father," said Blair. "And he's every bit his father's son. I think he's shown you that, hasn't he?"

"More than."

Blair wondered about her father-in-law's mood. Bart was usually all business even with her, even though he treated Blair better than anyone, boasting about his daughter-in-law to anyone who would listen. He didn't go on much about the past, what he thought, or what he felt.

Tonight seemed to be different.

"He's the best of me and his mother, combined. Charles has inherited my ruthlessness and drive, and he's more than proven that by saving Bass Industries while I was gone. Our minds work the same, he thinks the way that I do when it comes to business, which is why I knew I could trust him with the company that I built from nothing. I knew that he could do it... he just needed a little push in the right direction.

"But he's so much like Evelyn, even beyond his looks, more than any of you will ever know. All that love of color, crazy fashions, and ornate, elaborate settings. The way that he knows people, knows what makes them tick. The way he enjoys a good time. That crooked _smirk _of his. Even all that damned _purple. _That's my Evelyn, living on through our son."

"I wish I could have known her," Blair said softly.

His eyes locked on Blair. Face unreadable again.

Blair didn't blink. Knowing Chuck for most of the past two decades, and loving him for nearly six years, meant that she'd had plenty of practice dealing with a closed-up, out-of-touch-with-his-emotions, stubborn male Bass. The year she'd spent as Bart Bass' daughter-in-law had clearly illustrated how much the father was like the son.

"So," she said, very slowly. "Here is the part where I assure you that what happened to Evelyn is _not_ going to happen to me. Mother has assured me that none of my direct ancestors have died in childbirth since before the United States broke away from Great Britain, and that was someone who was already ill. Waldorf women are strong as horses."

"No Waldorf woman has ever attempted to deliver a baby Bass before."

Blair decided not to press things further. She'd use every bit of her charm, but there was no help for it. Her husband and father-in-law _would _treat her like a piece of china from now until November. Chuck was already doing it, and it seemed that Bart would be far worse. She knew that she'd have it out with them, she would rage and throw things at Chuck, but in the end, she wasn't going to be running all over New York until the baby was here, let alone anywhere else.

Why, it was positively Victorian! Ridiculous... but then again, Blair knew that no one gave the Bass men the memo that this was the twenty-first century.

She sighed, resigned. If Blair had her way (and she planned to have it, always), this baby would be the first of _several_ little Basses. She, Chuck and Nate had _hated _being only children. Chuck didn't want to think beyond mid-November, and she understood his worries and fears, but Blair fully intended to give her husband babies (plural) _and _look fabulous doing it.

Once she delivered this baby safely, and Chuck and his father saw that she was very much alive and breathing, she planned on having at least _three_ more. At least. Close enough to each other in age to really share their childhoods, to have memories together, and to bond with each other. Law school was important to her, but so was starting a family with Chuck. She was sure she could do both. Hadn't she always been determined to have it all?

Blair smiled to herself, thinking about the look on her mother's face. Eleanor always thought having two children was excessive, and three was _common. _Wait until there were _four or more _little boys in bowties and little girls in headbands, scampering around her atelier...

Bart misinterpreted her smile.

"Blair, I think it's unwise for you to be so dismissive of my concerns, especially after what happened a year and a half ago. That accident was the first direct news I'd had of you or Chuck in years. Are you going to be able to carry to term?"

Point taken. Blair felt a sharp pang of grief as she thought of her first child.

"My doctor says that I should have no trouble at all. We'll decide this fall whether I'll deliver naturally or have a scheduled C-section."

Bart didn't seem impressed. "I want you to have a second and third opinion, Blair. I've already sent for two of the best obstetricians in the world to be at your beck and call."

"Bart, I know you're concerned, but..."

"Evelyn had a wonderful pregnancy until the very end. She was your age when we were expecting Chuck. Things didn't go wrong until delivery."

A shadow crossed Bart's eyes.

"You'll have the very best medical care, Blair. And I think it's a good idea for you and Chuck to defer from Yale for a year, so that you're in New York with your family and friends. Also, you two have been busy lately, and I know that you're hosting the Forbes cover brunch for us next month, but this summer and fall..."

"Don't worry, your son has already personally scoured my social calendar of all but the essentials for the next six months," she assured him. "After the clambake, he's going to lock me away in our tower until I produce an heir for the Bass empire."

"My son couldn't have chosen a better empress. Which means that you _will_ rest and have your every need catered to, Blair. I don't want you lifting a finger until well after my grandchild is born."

"Yes, sir."

He noticed the smile playing around her lips. "What is it?"

"Oh, nothing. I'm just thinking about all the beautiful grandchildren you're going to have laughing at the dinner table a few short years from now... and all the family pictures that'll be in your suite... and how much they're going to love being part of your family. How proud they'll be... just as proud as I am."

He stood up.

"Blair, there's something that I need to share with you."

"What is it?"

"Not now. After dinner. There's something that you need to know."

"Me and Chuck?"

"Well, he needs to know as well. But I want to run it by you first."

Blair figured that it had something to do with the Hong Kong project, perhaps a difference in opinion. Blair had been very willing to smooth over the rough edges of the newfound bond between father and son. She'd only been too happy to do so. Even when they all thought that Bart was dead, she'd only ever wanted Chuck to be proud of himself and who he was.

As a child, she'd always assumed that she'd marry into a family as old as hers. The Vanderbilt-Archibalds fit that bill. But as she began to fall in love with Chuck, her visions of adding a famous, centuries old name to her own transformed into visions of actually _making _a new name and _founding _a dynasty. So that future generations would look back at her portrait, and tell her story, not just as one woman among many of a lineage...

...but as the very _first_.

Talk about powerful.

"Perhaps a nightcap, then, after dinner and dessert? Perrier for me, and we both know Chuck's made sure that this boat is well stocked with the best Glenfiddich. I'll have Nate or someone distract him, then come find you."

Bart kept his thoughts to himself, mask back in place.

"Very well, then." He held out his arm. "Shall we go up to dinner?"

Blair took it. "Sounds like a perfect plan."

_**Serena**_

She really knew that she needed to rejoin the party. From her vantage point on the top deck, Serena could see that most of the assembled guests were chatting and enjoying the last of their drinks and appetizers. Melody Gardot had finished her set, and her band was packing up while the DJ spun a variety of tunes and the catering staff set up tables quickly and efficiently.

Serena shivered a little in her cool blue, off-the-shoulder Alice + Olivia dress. She'd guessed that the night would be cool and had a sweater in her cabin, but she didn't want to go down there just yet. When they'd made the room assignments, she'd been back on with Dan, and since he hadn't been seen since everyone boarded, she assumed he was brooding there.

She'd figure out where she'd sleep later.

Nate came up the stairs, wearing a brand-new captain's hat and singing the words to "Billionaire" as it played below. "Hey, Serena."

"Hey... God, can someone _please _change the music? I _hate_ that song." Serena wished that everyday people knew that money caused more problems than it created. What she wouldn't have given for a normal family life growing up. Yet everyone wanted to _be _her and her friends.

"Yeah, I know, but it's catchy. Chuck thinks they wrote it about _him, _of course." She knew that Nate could tell the laughter wasn't quite reaching her eyes. "Everyone's asking for you downstairs."

"Okay, just tell them I'll be down in a sec."

Nate walked over to the railing. Tentatively, he put an arm around Serena's golden shoulders.

And she crumpled up against his chest, crying.

"Hey... shhh..." she heard him whisper into her hair, lips pressed against her scalp. "Does this have to do with Dan? Where is he? What happened to his face?"

"Oh, Natie, it's just awful!"

"What? Did he do something to you? Because if he did..."

"He's still in love with Blair."

"What? Apparently, I missed a lot." Nate pulled away to look at Serena, still keeping her in his arms. "Does Chuck know?"

"Yes. _That's _what happened to his face."

"Oh." Nate whistled low. "S, I don't think Dan's in love with Blair. I don't know what that was last year, but from the outside looking in, it wasn't all that great on either side. I just think he hated to lose to Chuck, that's all."

"He doesn't hate ripping out my heart. Nate, he confronted Blair right in front of me _and _Chuck... he _bought her roses _while he was with me... and then, after he knew Blair was disgusted, he actually thought I'd just fall back into his arms because he knows how I feel."

A fleeting look of anger crossed Nate's face. But he was Nate, so it passed.

"Serena, I don't know what I'm supposed to say. I hate this happened to you. But..."

"Please don't say it. I know I made a big mistake last year, Nate. I know I've burned through all my chances with you."

"S, I just want you to know..."

"You know, Nate, I think I get it. Men see me as this shiny plaything, this fantasy _toy _that they play with along the way. I'm never their destination. That's why my mother's married so many times, why I get slammed in the media when I'm seen with a different man every month. I guess that people like me just don't deserve to have forever..."

Nate's lips descended on hers for a brief, sweet kiss. Serena melted into his arms. Nate always made her feel like she was drinking hot chocolate from Dean and Deluca. He was warm, familiar, and beloved.

Serena shuddered against his lips. "Oh, _Nate."_

"Serena, I love you. Even after everything that's happened, I love you. I always will."

"I love you too, Natie, but right now... I mean, you're with Vanessa... and me and Dan... I don't want to repeat what happened at the end of last summer."

"I know." He gazed at her, heart in his eyes. "We've got nothing but time, right? You're 21, I'm 22. We say that we've known each other since we were four only because that's the earliest that any of us can remember..."

"_Blair," _they both said together.

"Yeah," he continued. "But hey, if we've been together all these years, maybe we get to spend our whole lives together. Two decades down, a bunch more to go. And... not everyone's like Chuck and Blair. It's probably best for the world that they found each other so young, married..."

"And are having a baby," she said. When Nate gaped and looked surprised, Serena couldn't believe it. "Nate, couldn't you tell?"

"So _that's _it," said Nate triumphantly. "I was wondering why _Blair _was scarfing down so much food lately. You should have seen her shoveling it down at lunch today. It was hilarious! Everyone just stopped eating and _looked at her._ Chuck had to excuse them both from the table so it would stop." They both laughed. "Whoa, our best friends are actually reproducing! That's a little scary to think about!"

"I'm sure that this kid's Uncle Nate and Aunt Serena will help balance their Bass and Waldorf tendencies," she said. "The world will thank us! So... back to you and me."

"Yeah, back to us. I mean, you and I... we have history." He drew back, took her hands in his. "Lots of history. Last summer, I thought about putting my mother's ring on your finger, and that's the _first _time I ever had thoughts like that. I knew not to give it to Blair, and I didn't think that way about any girl since..."

"Oh God, Nate, Anne would _die," _Serena said. "If we ever do get engaged, you'll have to buy me a new ring. Rather than let it go to me, your mom will insist on being buried with it!"

He squeezed her hands. "Well... that was last year. You know, sometimes, S, I think our moment was in the past, back when we were younger and everything came out about the Shepherd wedding. And then other times, I wonder if the best is yet to come for you and me; that someday in the future we'll make it work. But right now I think you need to work things out with Dan while I work them out with Vanessa. It's the right thing to do." His fingertips came up to brush her lips tenderly. "After all, you and me? We're going to always be there for each other, right?"

She grinned at him. "Right."

Serena could tell that Nate was going to kiss her again. It was in his eyes. But then, they were interrupted.

"Hey, Nate, I'm ready to see the... oh, I'm sorry," said Jenny, coming up the stairs. "I'll just..."

"No, Jenny, wait," Serena said. She hated to admit it, but she _loved _the seersucker dress that the younger woman had on. "Nate and I were just talking."

"Oh, that's okay, dinner's going to start soon. I'll see you guys later," she said, turning to leave.

"Hey Jenny," Nate called. "Why don't we all drop by the wheelhouse together? Maybe after dinner, you can both take turns driving that thing. It's awesome!"

"Did you get to try it already?" Jenny asked.

"Yeah, I did! From the time we finished our tour earlier until just before I came up here, I was at the helm. The captain was right there, and gave me all kinds of pointers. I'll still have to have a crew if I take it out on the ocean, or at least a couple other people with boating licenses, but it was _great."_

"Wow, I'd love to learn! Wouldn't you, Serena?"

Serena shot them both a sly look.

"Actually... I don't need to learn. I've _got _my boating license."

Nate and Jenny both gaped at her.

"You know, that's right," said Nate. "I forgot you made good use of your time during that summer in California."

"That's right. People always forget that I, Serena van der Woodsen, actually _can _do things. I guess it's because I'm blonde... they always underestimate us."

"That's true," said Nate.

"Well, _I _don't mind," said Jenny. "Let them underestimate us all they want. They'll never see us coming."

Serena and Nate exchanged a look. Talk about blond power!

They went down the stairs to the main deck, where people were starting to sit down for dinner. The best table at the front, the captain's table, was long and reserved for the three graduates and their guests. It wasn't quite dusk yet, but electric candles glowed on each table, and more professional track lighting illuminated the railings. ("It'll be dark by the time we get to Half Moon Bay for dessert," Chuck had said. "Trust me, the lights will look fine.")

Rufus Humphrey came over to chat with them as soon as they emerged.

"Hey, Jen, there you are," said Rufus, kissing the top of his daughter's head. "Haven't seen you since we boarded... hi, Nate. Serena, could I talk with you for a moment?"

"Sure, Rufus," she said. "Nate, Jenny, you go on to the wheelhouse without me. I should probably see about dinner, anyway... we'll get started in about fifteen minutes, around 8:30."

Rufus and Serena walked to the railing, a few feet away from the nearest table.

"Serena, what's going on with Dan? What happened to his face?"

_Of course that's what he wanted to know, _she thought. "I don't know, Rufus. Why don't you ask him?"

"You know he won't talk to us. He's down in his cabin, brooding and typing away on his laptop. Listen, did something happen when you went to Nate and Blair's graduation?"

Serena, after everything that had happened the year before with Gossip Girl, Blair, Nate, Lola, and Dan, _really _didn't spare people's feelings as much as she used to. She used to hold everything in an attempt to be the nice girl. But right now, Rufus Humphrey was going to get the honest-to-goodness truth from her, much as Anne Archibald had.

"As a matter of fact, something did, Rufus. Dan..."

But she was interrupted by the graduates coming on to the deck. Nate and Jenny obviously never made it to the wheelhouse, and were walking back to the main deck. Dan stood between his mother and Vanessa (who was being closely followed by Hans from Bass Industries), his face looking almost normal in the gathering dusk, with a tight, insincere grin on his face.

And Blair emerged from downstairs on Bart Bass' arm, the business titan practically beaming at her.

Serena turned away from Rufus, ignoring his "wait a minute, we were talking" to start the clapping for the guests of honor. She made her way to the front, where Chuck was talking to Melody Gardot.

"Great, everyone's here," she told her brother. "Do you want to do the serenade?"

"Actually, I think Dad has something to say to everyone first. Then the serenade."

"She's going to _kill _us," Serena said.

"I know," Chuck replied, beaming.

The singer beamed underneath her signature dark sunglasses, then took the mic again.

"So I've gotten one last request before the boys and I disembark... but before I do, Blair, could you please come to the front?"

Bart guided her to Chuck, who put his arms around his wife. Melody attempted to offer the mic to Bart, but he waved her off.

"I don't need that," he said brusquely. "Before we begin dinner, I'd like to propose a toast."

"Oh no, Chuck," Serena heard Blair whisper, as the wait staff quickly pressed flutes of '95 Dom into everyone's hand. "Toasts should be after dinner! Bart knows better!"

"Who's going to tell him to stop?" Chuck murmured back, loudly enough so that Serena could hear. (He sent her a look; Blair sometimes had fits over her father-in-law's neglect of social proprieties.) "Let's just go with it."

As for Bart, he was looking at the gathered crowd of family and friends. He was noted for not being a very sentimental person, and for his famed leathery visage never cracking, but somehow, his face softened as he looked over at Chuck and Blair.

"Last year, when I returned from exile, it was as if I had been asleep for three long years. While I was gone, the entire world had changed. One of those many changes was my son. Many of you remember me and my son before the news of my death shook the business world... and our private one. You remember what things were like.

"Chuck was a boy when I left. By the time I returned, he was a man. He saved my company and turned his first profit. He became noted for his political support, his philanthropy, and grew into someone that our friends could count on. And he fell in love with the best thing that ever happened to the Bass family, my incredible daughter-in-law Blair, who... Eleanor and Cyrus, Harold and Roman, could you please join us up here? Lily, you should be up here as well."

Serena whispered to Chuck and Blair, "Uh-oh, does your mom know?"

Blair's eyes widened. "Oh, God... Chuck, did you tell her?"

Chuck shook his head. "Dad!"

Bart ignored him. "Today, I learned that Chuck and Blair are expecting their first child." The crowd gasped, and Eleanor's mouth flew open. "So I'd like to propose a toast to my son and your daughter for making us all grandparents sometime in November. Cheers."

Blair's dad, stepdads, and Lily were elated as people applauded and said "Cheers!" As Bart pulled his son over and forced a glass of champagne into his hands, Eleanor rounded on her daughter.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself, Blair? You couldn't at least _call _and tell me before I got on this tugboat and had to hear such momentous news from _Bart Bass _of all people?"

Serena tried to smooth things over. "Eleanor, Chuck and Blair didn't know he was going to do that."

"Mom, I'm really sorry," said Blair. "Chuck and I have been keeping it to ourselves for a long time, and people just started guessing today. No one knew."

"No one knew?" Eleanor repeated. "I should think that your _mother _would be among the first to know..." Blair's eyes filled with tears, "but given what happened a year and a half ago, I understand why you kept the news until you were sure."

Mother and daughter were locked in an ocular stalemate.

"C'mon, Eleanor," said Serena. "You don't mean to say that you're not a _little _excited that you're going to be a grandma?"

"Well... perhaps a little..." She closed the distance between herself and her daughter. "Come here, darling."

And for one of the few times in Blair's life that Serena could remember witnessing, mother and daughter hugged.

While the other parents hugged Blair and Chuck, Serena went and gave Melody her cue.

"Blair, I've heard that my music got you through a difficult time in your life. I know that you were resting during my concert, but your husband here tells me there's a song that you love better than any other. He's asked me to sing it for you, if that's all right?"

Blair beamed at Chuck. "I suppose," she told the singer.

"And I'm going to ask everyone here to join me."

"What?" said Blair. "Melody, I don't think that's a good idea. After all, not everyone here knows the words! It will sound terrible!"

"Well, we'll just see." She picked up her guitar.

It turned out that almost everyone there _did _know the song in question. So as Nate's new yacht floated in the twilight toward Half Moon Bay, the group sang it.

_Moon River, wider by a mile_

_I'm crossing you in style someday_

_Oh, dream maker, you heartbreaker_

_Wherever you're going, I'm going your way_

_Two drifters, off to see the world,_

_There's such a lot of world to see_

_We're after the same rainbow's end_

_Waiting 'round the bend_

_My huckleberry friend_

_Moon River, and me._

"Wait a minute," said Blair after the applause died down. "How did everyone..."

"_Blair," _said Chuck. "You _can't_ be serious."

"Chuck and I did a little counting," Serena said. "We asked everyone here how many times..."

"...you made them watch _Breakfast at Tiffany's _with you." Pause.

Serena took the ball and rain with it. "We've all watched that movie around 1800 times combined, Blair!"

"What?" said Blair. "I'm not that bad!"

"1761 was the exact count," said Chuck. "Nathaniel, Serena, and I account for about nine hundred of those times..."

"I have the movie memorized!" Nate yelled out. "Hoping it comes in handy someday at a pub quiz!"

Everyone laughed.

"OK, so you're my best friends, and I married one of you. _You _I get. But all _these _people? Did I really make even our family friends..."

"YES!" said the crowd, in unison, without any prompting.

"Sounds as if she can't use that one as her email password!" said Melody. "Thanks!"

Serena took the mic from her.

"Please, enjoy your dinners! We're almost at Half Moon Bay, where we'll dock for a while, let Melody go, and pick up a few other special guests before drinks and dessert... we realized that a few of you need to get back to the city, so we've arranged transportation."

As Serena, Blair and Chuck went to sit at the captain's table, Blair suddenly pulled away from her husband, threw her arms around Serena, and kissed her cheek. In spite of herself, Serena laughed. It was something she did when they were very young, but hadn't in years.

"Hey, what was that for?"

"Because you're the best friend and _sister_ that anyone could ever ask for," Blair replied. "And because I don't deserve you. Really, I don't understand why you guys put up with me."

"I could say the same about you," Serena said, softening. Despite her whirlwind of feelings about what happened with Dan, Blair, and then Dan and Blair the year before, Serena couldn't help but _love _this girl.

"S, I love you. I'm really sorry about today. The way I acted when you didn't show was uncalled for. Then there was everything with... well, you know who with. I wouldn't blame you if you never spoke to me again."

"Well, Blair, as my mom told Chuck once, I'm afraid to inform you that my love for you is unconditional," she said. "I just want you never, ever to doubt my love for you again, Blair Waldorf Bass... and if we weren't both into boys, how _our _love would be the story written up in all the international papers."

Blair giggled. "Oh, wait until I tell Chuck. I'm going to get some good mileage out of this one!"

"Whatever, pregnant lady! We have to feed my new niece or nephew!"

"Nephew," said Blair as they walked back toward the table. "_Definitely_ nephew."

_**Nate**_

Seating had been pre-arranged, and there were name cards on all of the plates. The captain's table was supposed to be Nate and Vanessa, Blair and Chuck, and Dan and Serena. Joining them were Eleanor and Cyrus, Harold and Roman, the Captain and Anne Archibald, with Bart Bass and William Vanderbilt at each end of the long table. (Lily and Rufus had elected to sit with Eric, Alec, Allison, and Jenny.)

However, Dan sat down next to his mother, leaving Jenny (whose name card was there) at a loss. After the toast and serenade in honor of Blair were over, Nate came over to see what the trouble was.

"Hey, Dan, what's going on? You're supposed to be sitting at the captain's table, not all the way back here."

"It's my graduation day. The way I see it, I can sit where I like." He looked at Nate, who was frowning. "You don't have a problem with that, do you?"

"Hey, man, I don't, just that it's graduation and..."

Dan's eyes locked on Nate's. They said everything Nate needed to know.

"Fine," said Nate. "Jenny, why don't you come join us at the captain's table? We've got an extra seat."

"Oh, I couldn't, it's for the grads..."

"Jen," said Dan flatly. "Just _go."_

So Jenny ended up in the seat between Serena and Nate. Originally, Nate had been looking forward to catching up with Dan, since they hadn't been able to talk. Maybe he could have talked some sense into him regarding the stuff with Serena and Blair. However, Dan didn't really seem as if he was in the best of moods just then.

Neither was Vanessa. She'd evidently repaired her makeup and changed in their cabin, but she was stony silent and barely touched her food. Although he'd resolved earlier to make things work with Vanessa in spite of everything she'd done, Nate really wasn't looking forward to nightfall. He was sure that she would be cold in bed, as she always was when she was angry.

Well, maybe he just wouldn't go to sleep, Nate decided. Maybe he'd have a bit of a moonlight sail in the wheelhouse, let the crew enjoy themselves a bit as he spent time at the helm of his ship with his thoughts, looking out at the moon on the river.

Nathaniel Archibald had a lot to think about.

Across from him and Vanessa sat his mother and father, with Grandfather Vanderbilt sitting at the end. The Captain kept trying to catch Nate's eye and include him in the conversation, and Nate responded with one word answers. As for his mother, he was evidently getting the silent treatment from her, which in Nate's view was sometimes better than her conversation. She had pointedly ignored Vanessa, and though she was talking with her father and ex-husband, continued to glare at the other end of the table.

Looking over to his other side, past Jenny, he saw that Serena was chatting animatedly with Blair (sitting next to her), Chuck, Bart Bass at the head of the table, and Blair's parents across from all of them.

"Now, Blair, you can't be so certain that it will be a boy," said Eleanor. "If there's one thing that the Bass family needs, it's a softer side. And you do that with daughters."

"That's nice, Mother, but we're not having a girl this time," said Blair, spooning up her chilled asparagus soup. "It's a boy."

"How on earth can you know?"

"I just _know,"_ said Blair. "This is our son. Chuck and I are going to have a little boy."

Eleanor turned to her son-in-law. "Charles, please help my daughter see reason."

"She's the boss when it comes to this, Eleanor," he replied smoothly.

"When it comes to everything," Blair assured him. "Mother, I'm having a boy, and that's that. If you want a little girl to design a line around, you'll just have to wait a couple of years."

"A couple of years?" Eleanor sputtered. "You mean to say that you're already planning your next pregnancy, Blair? Why, your figure will barely have time to recover!"

Harold changed the subject. "So tell me more about what Yale said about the deferral, Blair-bear..."

Nate tuned out the conversation after a while. He was really happy for his friends, especially Chuck, who had been in a terrifically good mood for months. Now Nate understood why. He couldn't help but think that Chuck had opened some door and entered the real world of adulthood while Nate was somehow stuck in adolescence.

Next to him, Nate noticed an awkward movement. Jenny was attempting to eat her appetizer, crispy lo mein noodles with small Maryland blue crabs, steamed whole. However, she wasn't having much success picking the crabs... and Nate's mother had moved her glare from Serena to the girl from Brooklyn.

"It's like opening a can of Coke," he said.

Jenny glanced up. "What?"

Nate glanced up; his mother was now deep in conversation with his father, her expression showing her disapproval of the entire event. (Nate knew she was annoyed that her son's graduation present had been such a _gauche _toy more characteristic of upstart businessmen and criminals.)

"Well, after you snap off the claws, you pull the apron off," Nate continued, using his fork to point to the part of the shell he was referring to. "The apron's like the tab of a Coke can."

"If I had known crab would be this complicated," said Jenny wryly, "I would have ordered something else. You'd think that the chefs at a place like Gramercy Tavern would have done some of this work for their fancy diners..."

"No, you want to pick your own," Nate insisted. "Tastes better that way. Here, let me show you."

"How did you learn?" Jenny asked, lowering her voice as Nate cracked the crab open expertly. "After all, it's not exactly Upper East Side cuisine. If it was, I would have known it."

"Yeah, but it's seafood, my favorite," said Nate. "You have to go to the Chesapeake Bay area sometime. One of my friends from the lacrosse team has a family estate there, and he taught me. This is the time of year for them... here, taste..."

Jenny blinked at the crab meat that Nate had freed from the complicated shell. He'd dipped it in the clarified butter, and the morsel looked so tempting on the tip of his fork.

But Jenny wasn't looking at that fork. Their eyes met, blue upon blue.

As Nate's fork slipped between her lips, her pupils dilated.

"Oh, that is _good,_" she said when she found her voice again. "Best crab I've ever tasted!" She took the utensils from Nate. "Seafood's my favorite, too. I can't believe that I've never had this! I thought that between New York and London I would have tasted everything by now..."

"Maybe not everything," said Nate, cracking a grin. "Not if you've never been to the Washington, DC area in the spring or summer. Chuck knows I'll eat anything that comes out of the ocean, and I really like these. He must have asked the chef to put it on the menu... here, you try it."

Nate continued his instruction, positioning Jenny's hand around the picks, pointing out the parts of the crab that were edible and inedible. It took a little while, but soon she got the hang of it.

"That looks really good," Nate said, watching her finally lift a forkful of sweet crab meat to her mouth triumphantly. "Should have had that instead of the shrimp cocktail."

"Want to try?" It was Jenny's turn to lift her fork to Nate's mouth. "Open wide..."

And before he knew it, his mouth closed around it. The blue crab meat was _unbelievable_... and so was the taste of Jenny, lingering on the tines...

Sharp fingernails suddenly dug into his thigh. Only twenty-two years of good breeding and his mother sitting directly across from him stopped Nate from crying out.

"I am still sitting _right here," _hissed Vanessa in his ear.

"Funny," Nate muttered back, voice low, "hard to remember that when you haven't talked to anyone all evening."

"Maybe if you hadn't sided with Blair and Chuck, I would have!"

"We are not having this conversation, Vanessa. Later. After dinner."

"No, we're not. I'm getting off this boat."

"How?" He turned angry eyes toward her. "You can't swim."

Vanessa started attacking her vegetable foccacia. Deciding not to even engage her anymore, Nate turned back to Jenny.

"Sorry," she said. "Didn't mean to..."

"That's all right. So tell me more about what design school's like."

Grin. "Only if you tell me all about what's going on at _The Spectator."_

They caught up throughout dinner. The chef at Gramercy Tavern had prepared a half dozen choices of entrée, including a Waldorf salad and striped bass with vegetables. (Sometimes, Nate reflected, Chuck could be so_ corny._) Nate opted for the roast duck with confit, while Jenny went for stuffed flounder...

He liked the way she ate. It reminded him a bit of Blair. There was something very precise about her movements, how she lifted the fork just so. He was sure that the next time he saw her pick a Maryland blue crab, she would be graceful.

"Looks like there's quite a bit going on up at Half Moon Bay," said the Captain suddenly. The yacht was approaching the marina, and they could see a number of police cars.

"Don't worry, Howard," said Serena. "I'll be willing to bet they decided to have a police escort for our special guests. We'll be there soon."

And they were, docking as the plates had just been cleared away. Serena stood up and Chuck started to, but she told him to sit down, that she'd greet those boarding, that she'd be sure that Melody and her band were taken care of.

Suddenly and without warning, the guests were surrounded by local police from the nearby village of Croton-on-Hudson as well as New York state troopers. It was quite a scene. Nate, who pretty much figured there was some giant misunderstanding, was calm. So was the rest of the head table, who'd heard about the police escort for this big star.

A young looking officer came to the center of the tables, megaphone in hand.

"Ladies and gentlemen, you are under arrest! Put your hands where we can see them! Put them up in the air, _now!"_

"This is an outrage!" said Bart. "How dare you board a private craft and disturb us? What are these baseless charges?"

"Kidnapping. We received a call that someone on this vessel is being held against their will..."

The entire head table, and several at the others (including Eric and Alec) looked straight at the culprit. They knew who it was even before the officer said it.

"You are all under arrest for the kidnapping of Vanessa Abrams. We're going to have to take you in."

**~to be continued~**

A/N: I know that no one likes V. Not in canon, and not in fanon. But by golly, you have _got _to admire a woman who actually decides to call the cops on the _Basses_. In the middle of a celebration. When Bart Bass just announced that he's having a grandchild.

She's either extremely fearless or incredibly stupid. We'll see which it is next time. (Am just glad that I am not her.)

You can view the luxury yacht that is the setting for the party here: yachtstore DOT com/luxuryYachtDetails/2712/omega - I agree with my beta that this is really excessive for Nate's graduation gift, but I needed the equivalent of a big, pretty hotel on the water. In my mind, some minor details are changed, but the opulence and space give you an idea of what Nate's new boat is like. Also, there are several places in the United States known as Half Moon Bay, but the destination in my story is in Westchester County, New York, right along the Hudson River.

Melody Gardot really does have a new album coming out this month! She reminds me of a younger Diana Krall. Her biography is so inspiring. She was in a life-altering car crash, so I think that Blair would be able to relate to her even though I don't think B's into jazz. Here are links to the two songs in this chapter:

"Amalia": soundcloud DOT com/mmmusic/melody-gardot-amalia

"Baby, I'm a Fool": youtube DOT com/watch?v=qcebJ37cZKQ

For the rest of her new album, and more of Melody's music, visit her YouTube channel: youtube DOT com/user/MelodyGardotOfficial

Next time, we'll have three surprise guest acts, two of whom have been featured on _Gossip Girl. _Stay tuned!

Jenny, Dan, Eric, and Vanessa got a break this time, but they're back in the next chapter. There are still surprises to come, and I can see clearly now to the end of the story – we're in for three more chapters (Evening Part 3, Night, and Tomorrow). Next chapter should steam things up again, and "Night" will be just lemony smut-and-soap. (It's _night!_)

I will keep all of the promises I've made for the evening: the Derena drama is about to boil over when Dan's graduation gift is revealed, Serenate share another moment, Chair celebrate their announcement as only Chair can (can someone say "roleplay?"), and Chate talk while Bart shares something with Blair that changes their lives forever. Eric makes his decision. And Nate takes the helm of his ship literally and figuratively, settling in for the long night hours with a lady friend by his side... with three girls in the running (okay, after V's stunt, maybe two but who knows), who gets your vote? Let me know in your reviews.

Sharing a bottle of '95 Dom with my super duper betas **DrGG **and **K**, who clean up these lengthy chapters so that they are safe for human consumption. :) Also piano lessons on the Waldorf's Baldwin, with Chuck Bass as your tutor, to all the Chair shippers on Twitter, especially **SunnySabry** of SC&B who encouraged me to come on over. I've been enjoying the chatter and camaraderie with so many wonderful CB fans and authors, especially in the aftermath of 5x22! You can find me there – follow me at **DrHolland_GG**.

Scarves and ascots from the Basshole's closet for all my Chapter 3 reviewers as of the posting of this update: **notoutforawalk, jojo.4ever, Trosev, Kathrynm37, NoFate2608, bfan, Elise, Meg, GG, CBfanhere, ChrysX, pty, BikerChick101, SaNaa.91, moe, anon, Dede, BiteMeBass, LunaSeasMoonChild, lilyeyi, amy, bonafide11, ****Ggchairstyles****, Eire, **and** LowerCase32**.I really do appreciate your comments and feedback, because they inspire me to write and update faster.

I'll be back again soon, with another update! Until then, remember, _I'm nothing without you-_

XOXO,** Dr. Holland**


	5. Evening, Part 3

**POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE**

**Summary:** One year after the events of Season 5, it's college graduation day for Nate Archibald, Dan Humphrey... and Blair Waldorf Bass. Serena and Chuck are planning a celebration to remember. Everyone's back in town, including Eric, Jenny, and Vanessa. Even in adulthood, the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite are still scandalous! A Chair centric, post-Dair fic. (AU after 5x19, with a few late season 5 spoilers.)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in the Gossip Girl universe, not even (sadly) Chuck or Nate. Major props to Cecily von Ziegesar, the CW, the producers, actors, and crew, and everyone involved with bringing these amazing characters to life.

**Chapter 5 – Evening (Part 3)**

May 2013, aboard the _Invictus_.

_**Nate**_

Nate Archibald had never been this angry with a woman in his entire _life._

Next to him, he heard Vanessa's sigh of relief, which made him even angrier. With her and with himself. He should have _known _not to trust her. Clearly this fiasco was all his fault.

When Vanessa showed at the Spring Gala, things weren't exactly working between him and Lola. Lola really wanted to audition for a part on some new film that Serena was involved in, while Nate really wanted to work on their relationship. They were so disconnected, and Nate was juggling his final semester at Columbia and the _Spectator _at the same time. So they were barely home together at the same time... and barely doing anything else, either.

Now, normally, Nate wouldn't have bothered rekindling things with Vanessa. Other than with Serena, who was an exception, Nate didn't like revisiting failed relationships. He'd tried that with Blair and it had been a disaster.

But that spring, he'd really needed someone in his corner. Things had been so... well, _distant _between he and Serena ever since their breakup at the end of the previous summer. They'd talked more on Nate's graduation day than they had in the preceding ten months.

Chuck and Blair were always Chuck and Blair. The Basses had few close friends, but they were always there for Nate and Serena no matter what. Marriage initially did little to change Nate's relationship with them, especially with Chuck. Despite their ups and downs over the years, Chuck would always be Nate's boy, and vice versa.

But in March, right before the Spring Gala, those two got _weird. _(Well, weirder than usual.) Suddenly, whenever they'd hang out, Chuck was so... un-Chucklike. Less dark humor and dry sarcasm, more "c'est la vie" and insufferable air of worldly experience. Didn't touch his signature Scotch, wouldn't even smoke a joint or two... "Actually, Nathaniel, I'm good, but don't let me stop you." It was only after Serena's revelation that Nate understood why.

Blair started acting odd, too. After their argument over Serena in the fall, she'd been really sweet with Nate. Blair was especially grateful for his company when she needed an extra elbow against intrusive paparazzi at Columbia. By the spring, they had a standing lunch date whenever they were both on campus (Tuesdays and Thursdays), but after mid-February, Blair seemed encased in a happy bubble. At first, Nate was wary... would they have to deal with "pieces of Blair" all over the walls? But no, her bubble never seemed to burst.

She was constantly texting Chuck_, _especially toward the end of the semester. At first, Nate was annoyed when Blair would hear her phone chime and would stop in mid-sentence, mutter "hold on a sec, it's Chuck," and send her fingertips flying over the touchpad with a little smirk.

The brunettes of the Non-Judging Breakfast Club had been texting each other several times per day since sixth or seventh grade. They texted each other even back when Nate and Blair were dating, although they figured he didn't know. (But Nate _did_ know, and until Victrola opened, it didn't bother him... much.) Those two were forever plotting some scheme or the other, to control and contain, to dominate and destroy. Nate used to secretly think of them as Pinky and the Brain... except they were _both _the Brain. Scary.

Anyway. Compared to Chuck and Blair this spring, Vanessa had been just _great. _She'd understood it when he talked about feeling depressed about graduation when everyone else would expect him to by happy. She understood that he wasn't sure if he wanted to run the _Spectator _for the rest of his adult life. She understood that he wasn't too cool with Lola running all over the country, chasing acting gigs that would take her away from the city for weeks, even months at a time.

She just _understood. _At least, he thought she had.

Everyone else had been skeptical about Vanessa's change of heart. As true Upper East Siders, they managed to be polite to Vanessa's face, but Nate heard it all. Chuck: "What is she really back for, Nathaniel? What's her angle?" Blair: "Ugh, I can't stand her still. At least she's figured out her hair, but sometimes I wonder about your taste, Archibald. Cougars and crazy girls? What's wrong with you? Mommy issues?"

His mother: "Well, darling, I suppose you don't want to hear _my _opinion..."

"I don't," Nate had assured her.

The one person whose opinion he wanted (and didn't want) refused to comment about the situation. He and Serena hadn't been on good speaking terms since their last breakup; their first civil conversations in many months had happened on this, his college graduation day.

Back in the present, Nate watched Serena, in spite of the police and their guns (for who would actually shoot _Serena van der Woodsen?_), boldly walk up to the officer with the megaphone, even as Bart Bass and William Vanderbilt started to rise from the table and handle the situation.

"Officer, there's been a huge mistake!" Serena said, head flinging back and forth between the cop and the girl from Brooklyn. "Vanessa Abrams wasn't kidnapped. She was on the guest list, the passenger manifest, and has been with her boyfriend all day long! We've known her for years!"

"Well, we received a phone call from a Miss Abrams saying that she was being held against her will on the _Invictus, _which would be docking at Half Moon Bay at 9 pm." The officer looked around the gathering. "Where is Vanessa Abrams?"

"I'm right here."

"Are you being held against your will?"

Nate stared at her. Hard. Her eyes locked on his, then rolled.

"Yes! These people wouldn't even let me relieve myself! My cell phone was stolen several hours ago by _her_..." she pointed at Blair, "so I had to _borrow_ a phone from the wheelhouse during the tour."

The officer turned to Blair, who'd gripped her husband's wrist and was imploring her father-in-law with pleading eyes not to say anything _just yet._

"And you are?"

Blair shot Vanessa her very best Queen B stare. A slow, devilish smirk spread across her delicate features.

"I'm Blair Waldorf Bass."

The officer, who had been in classic cop mode, blanched then.

"Excuse me, you're not _the..."_

A small smile curved Blair's lips as she continued to stare Vanessa down.

"I don't know of too many other women who share my name, Officer."

The officer started to look very, very worried. He addressed the man sitting next to her. "So that means you're..."

"Yes, he's Chuck Bass," said Blair, hand still gripping Chuck's wrist. Nate knew she didn't trust him to answer. "I'm sure you'd recognize most of the people sitting around the table, Officer... a _private _table on a _private _yacht that you boarded _without permission, _as my dad _Harold Waldorf _and my stepfather _Cyrus Rose _would point out to a jury when we sue you for this intrusion_._ Not to mention my parents' friend, William Vanderbilt, and my father-in-law..."

"Enough with the introductions, Blair," said Bart brusquely. "Young man, I want your name and badge number, _now. _How dare you invade our privacy like this? You have completely ruined a celebration for my daughter-in-law and her friends. It is an outrage."

"I see," said the officer, visibly trembling. "I... I'm Sergeant Haley. Mr. Bass, I'm sorry, but we received a call, and as soon as your crew opened the door, we had to follow our procedures..."

"I believe that I told you what I'll need from you. In the meantime, I want your men to remove yourself from this _private _party, and search Miss Abrams' luggage. She's my son's best friend's girlfriend, but unfortunately picked up a bit of a _habit_ while she was studying in Europe."

"_What?" _screeched Vanessa.

"She was assigned to cabin number one," said Chuck. "The crew can direct you. You may also wish to search her purse."

"_Are you kidding me?" _Vanessa yelled. "Nate, what the _hell? _ Are you going to let them do this?_"_

Nate hadn't been one-fourth of the Upper East Side's finest scheme team for nearly two decades for nothing. And after what Vanessa just pulled, what she'd been pulling all day, he felt little loyalty to her.

He shrugged. She lunged for him, but two of the police officers had already rounded the table and had grabbed her.

Of course, Vanessa had two knights in shining armor jump to her rescue. Rufus stood up, followed by Dan.

"Look, officers, I've known Vanessa for many years. I'm sure this is all a huge misunderstanding." He stared at his son's ex-best friend. "Isn't it, Vanessa?"

"Rufus, I don't think..." Vanessa's voice broke, "...I can stay here any longer."

"And she shouldn't have to," said Dan. "Look, officers, it's stupid to arrest anyone right now. There's no harm done. If Vanessa doesn't want to be here, maybe she can just leave the boat."

"And maybe, Humphrey, you could just mind your own business," said Chuck. "Officers, surely, filing a false police report is enough for you to take Miss Abrams off our hands."

Vanessa's shoulders slumped in defeat.

"Whatever," she said, standing up. "Officer, I'll come with you. Anything to get away from these psychotic people."

As the officers led Vanessa below decks and off the boat, Bart Bass was walking Sergeant Haley away, speaking to him in low tones, Hans from Bass Industries following closely behind. Nate supposed that he was ensuring Vanessa didn't talk about anything she'd heard, and that both bribery and blackmail were being employed.

"A danger to herself and others," muttered William Vanderbilt, sitting down and returning to his duck and cabernet without missing a beat the second Vanessa disappeared. "Most unfortunate."

"Yes, it is, Father," said Anne. "A girl like her should have never been invited as a guest. Unfortunately, there is so much that the younger generation does not understand about who we are," she shot Nate a severe glance, "including my own son."

"And what is that supposed to mean exactly, Mom?" said Nate.

"Oh, I think you know," said his grandfather. "This isn't a game, Nathaniel. You're a man now. You can't afford to be so naïve when it comes to your choice of women. In fact," William looked at Anne significantly, "it wasn't so long ago that people like us were not _given _a choice. Perhaps there was wisdom in that."

"No one can force me to do anything," said Nate. "You tried to arrange my marriage to Blair when we were babies..."

"It _was_ arranged," Anne corrected him, delicately pushing risotto onto her fork. "We had a mutual understanding with the Waldorfs... but let's not get into bygones, dear. It's your graduation celebration. There will be time enough to reiterate our expectations in _that _area of your life. What happened this evening makes our case nicely. It's time for you to get serious about your choices, Nate."

Nate stood up abruptly. "Excuse me, I'm going to get some air."

"Nonsense, we're already outside," said the Captain, who had been quiet as Anne and William had laid into him. "You've barely touched your food."

"Fine, I'm going anywhere but here," said Nate, turning back to Jenny. "Interested in that wheelhouse tour?"

Jenny, who'd been listening to the entire exchange while finishing her flounder, had on her perfect poker face. "Sure, as long as we're back for drinks and dessert..."

"Nate, I don't think that's a good idea," said his mother, glaring at the little blonde from Brooklyn. "Why don't you sit down and finish your meal?"

But Nate was far beyond words. The golden boy of the Vanderbilt-Archibald family was at the end of his rope. This was why he couldn't stand his mother and grandfather! They were always trying to control his life!

Still, Nate sat back down. He finished his duck, although it was tasteless in his mouth. He watched as Blair and Serena went over to chat with Penelope, Kati, and Iz. Much like in the old days, Blair was the center of attention as the young women gushed over the fact that she was pregnant. Eric and Alec were standing near the railing, laughing with Laurel of Waldorf Designs. Dan and Rufus were chatting nearby, and their faces were much more serious.

He listened to his grandfather and parents go on and on about nothing at all, very conscious of the empty seat next to him.

The only thing that anchored Nate was the presence of Jenny Humphrey. She was the only reminder that something strange had just happened. Unlike Upper East Siders, who had the unique ability to keep calm and carry on just minutes after a scandal, Jenny's sparkling blue eyes were hooded, and she seemed withdrawn.

"You didn't like the flounder." It came out as a statement, not a question.

Jenny shrugged. "Flounder's fine."

"Yeah?"

"It's just that..." Her voice trailed off, and when it came out again, it was quieter. "I was having such a wonderful time, and for a few hours, I felt the way I felt at the beginning of my freshman and junior years. Like this world and everything in it was... somehow worth it. But it's not."

She trailed her gaze up Nate's arm, over his shoulder, to his lips, nose, and finally to his eyes. Nate almost felt as if she'd _touched him._

"I just feel badly for you, Nate. You're part of this world, and yet I know you don't always feel at home here. You never did. I think that's why you liked Serena so much, you know. She's like you. But in the end, she's a van der Woodsen, and you're an Archibald."

"And you?" Nate asked before he thought.

"Me? I'm just an ordinary girl."

It was one of the most absurd things Nate had ever heard. There was nothing ordinary about the petite, fragrant blonde loveliness at his right elbow. And her _lips..._

"Anyway," she said, yawning a bit, "it's as I told my mother. I'm glad to come here and get some closure, but I'll be even more glad to get back to London and my real life in the real world where nothing matters except for your talents and your abilities. Not your last name, your parents, or how much money you have."

"You used to care about all those things. If I remember correctly..."

"Nate," Jenny said firmly, "you have no idea what I care for. Never have, never will. I've accepted that. So let's just enjoy our friendship for what it is, and not pretend as if it was ever something that it's not."

Nate was at a total loss. He couldn't even _look _at her.

"So..."

"So let's meet at the wheelhouse after drinks and desserts are over. You and the crew can teach me everything there is to know about sailing a luxury yacht. Then we part on the same terms that I'm hoping to part with everyone on this boat _and _in this world on... amicable indifference."

Nate stared at her for a moment, then stood up from the table and walked away, not even bothering to excuse himself. Jenny's words _bothered _him. He couldn't put his finger on why, but he was sure he didn't want Jennifer Humphrey feeling indifferent towards him. Whatever happened to the teenaged girl whose eyes shone with admiration and longing every time she looked at him?

_Gone._

He headed through the crowd. The staff was clearing away plates, and he nodded at people here and there. Soon, he found himself at the restroom toward the back of the yacht. It was a well-appointed room with brass fixtures and even a small sitting area.

He turned the doorknob, and it was locked.

"Hey, sorry," he said.

"No problem," said Chuck, voice oddly muffled. "I'll be out in five."

Nate shoved his hands into his pockets and started to walk away when he heard the distinct sound of a woman's giggle (a very _familiar_ giggle), and his best friend's smothered "shhh!"

No, they _didn't._

"Chuck, Blair, _come on!" _yelled Nate. "It's my new boat!"

"Oh, stop whining, Nate!" said Blair, sounding as if she were out of breath. "Chuck's just helping me with something..."

"Yeah, Blair, I'll just bet he is! When did you two even leave the... c'mon, you have a private cabin! You were late getting here, and you disappeared as soon as we boarded! No one can be _that _horny! Not even you two!"

"I'm _very sorry_ that your sex life is not up to your expectations, Nathaniel," rasped Chuck. "Next time, don't choose a bed partner from Brooklyn..."

"Chuck, this isn't _about _Vanessa! It's about my _best friend_, and his _wife_, who's _supposed _to be one of my best friends too, going at it in the only bathroom we have up here! Get a room! Better yet..."

He was interrupted by a sharp gasp, a squeak, and a purr from Blair, then a distinct, low-pitched guttural groan from Chuck that caused him to invest in Bose earbuds during the year those two were dating and Nate shared the penthouse at the Empire with them.

Well, those earbuds were currently back at the Empire.

Nate pounded his fist on the bathroom door, over and over again. "Damn it, you two! I've got to piss, hurry _up!"_

After about three or four full minutes' worth of delay (which Nate expected – the Basses were not going to leave until they were good and ready), the door opened. Blair emerged first, looking slightly disheveled. Despite the fact that he was at least six inches taller than her, she looked down her pretty patrician nose at him with a smug, haughty look...

...and then slapped his forearm and started cracking up. Chuck, who was right behind her, one hand on her waist, joined in the mirth.

In spite of himself and his recent girl troubles, Nate had to join in.

"You two are impossible."

"You know you love us," said Blair, refastening the open buttons of Chuck's shirt. "We're just christening your yacht for good luck. Besides, if you're looking for some fun tonight, Penelope Shafai just told me that she _still _has a thing for you. Enjoy!"

As his friends headed below decks to change clothes, Nate entered the bathroom and handled his business. No, he didn't want to spend the night with Penelope, he decided as he emptied his bladder. Maybe he needed to be alone for a while. Clearly, the sex with Vanessa had blinded him to her crazy... maybe he should detox...

Instead, he thought of soft, platinum blonde hair... sparkling periwinkle blue eyes... slim, pretty legs, tailormade for wrapping around a man... and the _deliciousness_ he'd sampled along with the crab. That he wanted to sample again. And again...

Then he glanced over at the counter next to the sink. _That _stopped his train of thought cold.

_Great. Brand new yacht, and the_ _bathroom needs to be disinfected already. Thanks a lot, Chuck and Blair._

Nate shrugged, then went in search of a crew member... and an "Out of Order" sign.

_**Dan**_

Dan was on the top deck, alone with his thoughts and a glass of Jack and Coke on the rocks. It had been quite an eventful day, most of it terrible. Graduation had been great, but then came everything with Chuck, Blair, and Serena... and now, the uproar Vanessa had just caused. While Dan didn't know exactly what happened, he had a feeling that Chuck and Blair were to blame.

What had he been thinking? He'd had that package of _womanly _evil pegged way back in high school. How foolish of him to think that she'd ever changed, that she'd ever love him the way he'd loved her, or that she'd ever get Chuck Bass out of her system.

Everyone had been abuzz over the news of the impending baby Bass after Bart's surprise announcement. Dan had known, of course, since Alec's slip up earlier in the afternoon, but it didn't hit him until dinner, when his family had discussed it.

"I couldn't be more pleased," said Lily, returning to their table to sit next to Rufus as dinner was served. Like his son, Rufus had refused to sit at the captain's table, preferring the company of their little family instead.

Rufus looked at his wife. "A new baby is always good news, but don't you think they're a little young? Are they mature enough? After all, this is Chuck and Blair we're talking about."

"Children never come when you're ready, you know that. I was younger than Blair when I had Serena, and if memory and math serve me correctly, you were just a year older than Chuck is now when Dan was born," Lily said. "Blair will be twenty-three before the birth, and Chuck will be twenty-two in a few days. None of our children are exactly children any more, Rufus."

"I know, and it's a pity," Rufus said, then turned to his son. "How are you holding up, Dan? I know this must be hard on you."

"Don't be silly, Rufus, Dan's back with Serena. He doesn't have any lingering feelings for Blair, do you, Dan?" said Lily.

"No," Dan said firmly, wondering if he actually meant it.

Dinner was a blur. Dan barely remembered what he ordered, let alone what it tasted like. Instead of enjoying his meal and the company of his family, he couldn't help but sneak glances at the head table. The Basses and Waldorf-Roses were at one end of it, and the conversation was quite animated. Dan couldn't hear what they were saying, but he did notice Blair. Although she was chatting with her mother and dads, occasionally saying something to her father-in-law, her body language showed that she was totally into her husband. Chuck wasn't saying much, but one arm was wrapped around Blair's shoulders, fingers tracing patterns on her upper arm.

Occasionally, they would just _look_ at each other, and it made Dan resent Blair for _ever _touching him. Because she'd never looked at him like that.

But it wasn't Blair or Chuck that drew most of Dan's attention. No.

That was reserved for the blonde sitting near the middle of the table.

Even all these years later, Dan freely admitted that Serena was the most beautiful woman he'd ever laid eyes on. It wasn't just her hair or her body or her breasts and legs. It was because she always seemed so damned _alive. _

Serena had always been more than the sum of her parts. Dan had thought she'd be a sweet, simple pretty girl... and yet, she was as complicated, moody, and frustrating as any other woman he knew. He glossed over thoughts of how hurt she'd been when he'd dated her best friend; Serena had hurt him so many times, and one good turn deserved another...

"So what happened to your face?" Rufus had asked him, when he caught him before he could make his escape right after dinner.

Dan thought about making up a story. But his father was extremely good at knowing when he or Jenny was lying. So he told the entire story from his perspective, leaving nothing out.

"I see," said Rufus slowly. "It sounds to me as if Chuck's anger isn't just about what you did and said today. He's been storing this up for a long time."

"He has no right," said Dan. "Chuck is a terrible person. Look at what he did to Jenny. Look at how he treated Blair. And yet, he gets everything."

"Not everything," said Rufus. "I'm sure over the years, Chuck's admired you as well. Look at his relationship with his father, the expectations that are hanging over his head, the fact that school always came easily to you. Even the fact that you have a mother who's alive and loves you..."

"He has Lily."

"It's not the same thing and you know it." Rufus sighed. "Dan, every single person at this party has made some terrible mistakes in the past. Like it or not, you're always going to be connected to Chuck through Lily and me. With the baby that's coming, you're going to have to deal with both him and Blair. As much as Chuck has infuriated me in the past, especially when it comes to your sister, he's apologized and Jenny has accepted his apology. He's part of this family, and so are you."

"Wait, are you telling me that I have to get along with _Chuck Bass?_" Dan said. "That's just not happening, Dad..."

"I'm sure he feels the same way. Which is why Lily's going to talk to him. Son, soon there will be children to consider... not just Chuck and Blair's kids, but you, Eric, Jenny, and Serena will also have families. It's time to grow up, be the bigger man here."

"You know, I'm sick of always taking the high road, but never getting the girl _or _the respect. Maybe what I need is to take a page from Chuck's book. It seems to be working so well for him."

"Dan, do you really think..."

"Dad, I really don't want to talk about this right now."

So he didn't. He climbed the stairs up to the top deck with his drink in hand, and surveyed the crowd, dark and unhappy thoughts swirling as he watched them all, mingling, drinking and talking. It was as if nothing untoward had happened just ninety minutes before. Dan thought about Vanessa, wondered if he should have joined her. Perhaps she had been right all along... perhaps you really _couldn't _write about these awful people from the inside.

Dan also noticed that sound equipment and mics were being set up, along with lighting... Dan supposed Serena had booked some local group or the other for the post-dinner entertainment, since they were now out in the middle of nowhere.

Once everything was set up, Serena came to the stage area with a mic in her hand, and called for everyone's attention.

"We hope that you've enjoyed dinner and your accommodations, for those of you who are staying with us overnight. Let's all give our good friend Nate a hand for his hospitality tonight on his new boat." Applause. "So now that we've had a chance to enjoy Nate's graduation present, it's time to experience Dan's..."

_Oh, no._

"Dan, I saw you head to the upper deck a while ago," Serena said into the mic, face unreadable. "Could you please come down here for a minute?"

He had wild thoughts of doing everything from leaping off the side of the boat to staying right where he was. But no, he would take the high road. _Just as I always do..._

Dan walked down the steps to the main deck, very conscious of his purpling black eye. But in true Upper East Side fashion, people acted as if nothing at all was wrong. Their eyes pretended as if it was a lovely announcement in the midst of a lovely evening, where everyone and everything was just _peachy keen._

As he neared the front, he sensed before he saw Chuck staring him down. He had Blair in his arms, and they'd both changed out of what they had on at dinnertime... instead of the navy blue sailor dress Dan had noticed on her earlier, Blair was wearing a green sleeveless sheath, and her hair was different. She wasn't paying much attention to Dan or anything else as she snuggled drowsily next to her husband.

Chuck's eyes weren't angry or mean any longer.

That was a look of _triumph._

Dan broke the stare, and went to stand next to Serena. Serena didn't smile, though. She looked at him, and continued.

"Dan, I have you to thank for what I have to say. Everyone here knows that I've been working on a movie for the past year, but no one knows much about what I've been doing... or really cares, I guess.

"Last spring, while everyone was going a little crazy over my stepdad Bart coming out of the Witness Protection Program and assuming control of Bass Industries again, I received a phone call. It was from Jane Campion. She'd just finished reading _Inside _and thought it was magnificent."

Dan's eyebrows raised. He'd received many accolades over the past year, but the fact that the director of _The Piano _loved his work was still quite the feather in his cap.

"Wow, Jane Campion... that's a big deal."

"Yes, it is. It turns out, though, that she was most fascinated by the character of Sabrina, who the media was reporting was based on me. She'd learned that I was a society journalist, had done some PR work with KC and worked with Nate on _The Spectator, _and had worked a little around Hollywood with David O. Russell... and she offered me the opportunity of a lifetime.

"'We always get these stories about the elite from an 'outsider going in' point of view," she told me. "Girls like you are always written about, but girls like you don't _write _about what it's like to be you, to live in your skin, to see through your eyes. What if we were to do a story like that?"

Dan's blood ran cold. _No. She didn't. She couldn't have!_

"Jane and I worked together. Actually, I finished the screenplay last summer. I'd been working on it quietly for a couple of years, but Jane helped make it great. We went into pre-production this fall, and filmed this winter and spring. Dan, I dedicated it to you. It's because of you that it's going to happen."

He didn't think he could get any angrier. Never mind that _Monarch of Manhattan _had been optioned and things were looking good. How _dare _Serena steal his work, his ideas, his creation?

Their eyes locked, neither of them smiling.

"So what, is the main character named Selena or Sarita or something?" Dan said, trying to keep the venom out of his voice.

"No. The main character is named Celia. In honor of my grandma CeCe... and me." She looked around. "The movie is called..."

"_To Celia," _said KC, half in disbelief. "Serena, that movie's getting all the buzz... it wasn't finished in time for Cannes, but everyone is saying that it's one of 2013's must see films for the holiday season. That's _you?"_

Dan had now gone from anger to _shock. _Remembering a bookish sixteen-year-old boy on a long-ago night, whispering the words of a dusty Elizabethan sonnet on his girlish lover's golden skin:

_Drink to me only with thine eyes..._

"Yes, I'm the screenwriter and co-producer. I used S. C. Vann as a pseudonym because I wanted people to focus on the work, not on me being this ex-It Girl or anything like that. We got Jennifer Lawrence for Celia... Ian Somerhalder plays the male lead, Michael... and Lola's got a major supporting role as his little sister. We're proud of it. We think it's going to be quite the story."

Amid all the gasping, and then applause, Dan's world was spinning. He wasn't sure how to feel or what to think. Years ago, he'd admitted to himself (begrudgingly) that Serena was a fine writer. However, a girl like her wasn't _supposed _to be a literary genius, was she? _Inside _had been all his private thoughts, his ventings, his frustrations about her...

_What had she written about him?_

"Is that all?" Dan heard himself saying.

"Actually, there is something else," said Serena, going over to a nearby table and handing him an envelope. "Read it out loud."

Dan's eyes met hers. Neither was smiling still. Breaking her starry gaze, he pulled the letter out of the envelope.

"Dear Ms. Vann, we are pleased to put into writing the terms of the agreement that we made by phone. Everyone at LivePlanet is excited about your proposed pilot, _99/1. _We look forward to seeing what you and..." here Dan began speaking more slowly, "..._Mr. Humphrey_ might do if your talents and efforts are combined. A series from the perspectives of characters like Celia Bouvier in the greatly anticipated Campion film _To Celia _and Dylan Hunter from the critically acclaimed novels _Inside _and _Monarch of Manhattan _has the potential to break new ground and provide fresh insight into the world of privilege. We look forward to meeting with both you and Mr. Humphrey at your convenience."

Dan blinked. It was just too much to take in at once. He was _furious_ she'd done all this behind his back... how dare she talk to anyone about his career and his work without his permission? Wasn't that how _Inside_ got killed in the first place? Had she even spoken with his agent, Alessandra, about any of this?

He was slightly jealous that she'd gotten her movie done first. The script for _Monarch of Manhattan _hadn't even been finalized yet. But of course, things just fell into Serena van der Woodsen's lap as a matter of course.

And yet...

He was _floored _that she'd done this. For _him_.

"Whoa, Dan!" said Nate. "LivePlanet? Matt Damon and Ben Affleck's company? I think that's even better than a yacht!"

"I always thought you two made a great team," Rufus called out. "You have the potential to become two of the best writers of your generation. Can't wait for the premiere."

"I'm so proud of you, Serena," said Lily. "You and Dan are going to be wonderful together."

"That remains to be seen," said Serena. "Anyway, we've got some special guests tonight that I hope everyone enjoys during your drinks and desserts. I got a couple of the performers who are on the _To Celia _soundtrack to come out and give us a little concert. Please welcome Dan's favorite band!"

And the Black Keys emerged from below decks to start setting up. Dan couldn't believe it.

"You got the _Black Keys_?" he asked. "Don't tell me..."

"Yes, Dan," said Serena. "It's the song you'll hear when Ian's character Michael first appears, actually."

And five minutes later, Dan was standing right there, watching his favorite band perform what he always thought of as his signature song.

_Well, I'm so above you_

_And it's plain to see_

_But I came to love you anyway_

_So you pulled my heart out and I don't mind bleeding_

_Any old time you keep me waiting, waiting, waiting..._

_Oh, oh, oh, oh... _

_I got a love that keeps me waiting_

_Oh, oh, oh, oh..._

_I got a love that keeps me waiting_

_I'm a lonely boy, I'm a lonely boy_

_Oh, oh, oh, oh..._

_I got a love that keeps me waiting..._

Yeah, "Lonely Boy" was Dan's theme music. How many days had he played that one on his iPod touch as he wrote, as he rode the subway, as he walked the streets of Brooklyn, the Village, or the Upper East Side?

The Keys did a few of their other hits that Dan supposed were on the _To Celia _soundtrack, including "Next Girl," "Gold on the Ceiling," and "Dead and Gone." He had to admit that Serena clearly knew him well. In spite of his resentment and astonishment over what she'd done, he was looking forward to seeing the movie. (Ian Somerhalder was clearly the best choice for Michael, too.)

Next to him, Serena stood. However, there was something clearly wrong with her. She was perfectly still, unmoving. That was completely unlike her... the thing about Serena van der Woodsen was that she was like the wind... like water. There was nothing stoic about her.

In spite of his lingering anger and annoyance, he reached for her hand.

She snatched it away, moving her hands up to hug herself.

Dan looked at her silhouette as the Black Keys started their next song.

_...And the city blocks, they drive me wild_

_They're neverending, mile after mile_

_I just don't know what to do_

_I'm too afraid to love you._

This was ridiculous. He had every right to be angry with Serena. Clearly, they had a lot to talk about. Maybe they'd never sort everything out. Where his feelings about girls like Olivia and Blair had been relatively simple, he couldn't figure out what he felt about Serena. There were times when he loathed her and everything she stood for, times when she left him cold as ice... but there had been, and were, so many more times when everything about her called out to everything that he was. Times when he knew that everything he felt about her wasn't just a dream or a mirage, but was real.

She was clearly upset. That was the immediate thing. He wanted to comfort her, let her know that he wasn't angry this time. That he appreciated her gesture, no matter how crazy or misguided. That he...

...still cared about her?

Before she could protest, he pulled her into an embrace. And because part of Serena was Celia in real life, a girl who was always conscious of being the center of attention, she didn't pull away.

But Serena was stiff in his arms. And very, very still.

"I hate you, Dan Humphrey. I really do. Right now, I don't think I ever want to see you again."

_All those sleepless nights and those wasted days_

_I wish loneliness would leave me_

_But I think he's here to stay_

_What more can I do?_

_I'm wringing myself dry_

_And I can't afford to lose_

_One more teardrop from my eye..._

Dan's first instinct was to let her go. She hated _him? _ She didn't want to see _him _again?

Well, _tough._

His hold on her tightened until he felt her sigh, and then melt against him. Her head fell onto his shoulder; her slender hands gripped his forearms.

He felt her breath, hot against his neck. He felt her tears, trickling on his shoulder.

"Why do you hate me?" he asked her.

"Because you think you're always right," she whispered angrily. "And you can't see how very wrong you are."

Dan couldn't say anything.

"Because you've spent the past six years picking me apart... like a woodpecker at a tree. Because you _hate_ what I do to you, how I make you feel. Because you've always thought that loving me doesn't make you authentic enough, or artistic enough, or 'deep' enough. Because you made me spend two awful years watching you pine after my best friend, who you clearly knew _nothing_ about, who _never_ stopped loving my brother. Because you enjoyed seeing me heartbroken over you, _got off on it_ even, and made your mark as an author on all my worst moments.

"I hate you because in spite of all that, in spite of everything you've done to hurt me, every time you touch me I leave my body... and go to some other place. Maybe it's heaven, maybe something else... but my God, I wish it was a place someone else could take me... somebody, _anybody_ but you! And I hate you because although I should have skewered you when I wrote Michael, I couldn't do to him what you did to me through Sabrina. Everyone who's seen the final cut is talking about how much they _love _him... how Celia and Michael are the best couple on the big screen this year. And it's all a big lie."

Serena lowered her voice even more, her warm breath tickling his ear. Dan pressed her more tightly against him, running his hands over her back and backside, even as all the blood rushed to his groin.

"It _hurts, _Dan! It _hurts_ because you and me, we're _never_ going to be that way together! It _hurts _because it_ turns you on _to see me like this... it hurts to know that you don't care anything about me anymore, when I can't get over you! When I've tried everything I know to get over you! When..."

Dan was far beyond rational thought. Never mind the fact that they were going to have it out before they left this boat.

He crushed his mouth against hers.

Serena jerked away, as if he'd electrocuted her.

"_Don't."_

"Serena, I love you. I've tried to deny it, but..."

"You're a fucking _liar. _ No, you don't love me, Dan. You don't love anyone but yourself."

"Serena..."

"Keep your voice down. Everyone's watching. I'm not going to have you ruin things for Blair or Nate. It's their graduation day, too." Her eyes narrowed. "But Dan, just know that I will _always _remember how low you've made me feel over the past five years. I'll _never_ forget how you humiliated me earlier today. And I _will_ get over you if it's the last thing that I do."

She plastered on a strained smile and applauded as the Black Keys took a bow...

...and whistled as Adele entered the stage area, to cheers and surprised exclamations.

Dan's head whipped around, mouth gaped slightly open.

"You got _Adele _for your soundtrack?"

"That was the easy part," Serena shrugged dismissively. "The hard part was getting our little soiree to fit into her schedule. We almost didn't. She has to be back to London tomorrow evening for a concert, so she's flying out right after this."

Turning away from him, Serena came up to the famous English singer, and kissed her on the cheek, even as the crowd on the boat (and the crowd at the marina who'd been enjoying a free Black Keys concert) cheered.

"Thanks for coming," Serena told Adele. To the crowd, she said, "We've saved the best for last. We're so lucky that we were able to get Adele to sing the original theme song from _To Celia, _which will be on her next album, I think."

"Yes, it will," Adele said. "Serena, it's lovely to be here. I was glad to do this for you. I'm glad to be part of your film, and can't wait until it comes out. I've heard this party is for some very prominent university graduates who also enjoy my music... Blair Bass and Nathaniel Archibald, Serena's told me all about you, and I think you'll enjoy the film as much as I did. She obviously thinks a lot of you two, and you as well, Charles. Through her film, and her stories, I feel as if I know everyone here.

"I did a couple of songs for the soundtrack, but as Serena says, this one's the theme. It's called simply 'To Celia'. I used the sonnet as my inspiration as I wrote the lyrics... this one's for you, 'Michael.'"

And Adele looked straight at Dan as she began the song. The lyrics washed over him, as did the beautiful melody, but as he listened to her phenomenal voice, he couldn't help but remember the words Ben Jonson wrote over five centuries before.

_Drink to me only with thine eyes_

_And I will pledge with mine;_

_Or leave a kiss but in the cup_

_And I'll not look for wine._

_The thirst that from the soul doth rise_

_Doth ask a drink divine;_

_But might I of Jove's nectar sup,_

_I would not change for thine._

Dan wasn't looking at Adele, though. He was looking at Serena.

And in that moment, he realized he'd never truly seen her before. For the first time in a long time, he felt exactly like that sixteen-year-old boy in Grand Central Station. His heart hammered in his chest. He felt... lightheaded?

Serena sensed him staring at her, and looked back at him. And that's when Dan _knew _he was in trouble.

For her eyes weren't the eyes of the Serena who loved him, the Serena in whose eyes he could do no wrong, the Serena who'd always adored him.

They were the eyes of Serena at the beginning of their senior year, after he'd pushed her too far over the Amanda thing and accused her of manipulating the situation, after she decided to make him suffer...

Phoenix Serena.

_**Jenny**_

Jenny Humphrey was enjoying the Black Keys concert quite a bit. Although she was dead tired, it being the middle of the night GMT, she decided to continue with her carpe diem attitude towards the party and this world.

No one had been happier to see Nate leave the table than her. The second he disappeared out of sight, she exhaled. After what she witnessed Nate do to Vanessa, she was going to steer clear of him. He, like all other Upper East Side boys, was dangerous as sin. The evening had grown late and she was tired. There was no way she was going to that wheelhouse with him, she decided, or anywhere else for that matter.

Eric joined her when the Black Keys had just begun "Too Afraid To Love You," bringing over a glass of blush champagne. Most of the young couples were using the slow burner as an opportunity to dance, but Alec was nowhere to be seen. Eric himself seemed distracted, but Jenny didn't want to pry. Besides...

"Eric, I'm almost asleep," she said, grinning in spite of herself. "More wine will just send me to bed."

"Please, I'll bet you haven't even touched a drop yet! After all, this is the _new_ Jenny Humphrey we're talking about."

"Ha! Well, I'm still me, just taking a break from the 'wild child' phase everyone remembers. Besides, it's late in London. I'm beat!"

"Yeah, I know what you mean... but what's the sigh for?"

"Nothing." She glanced at him, then looked away. "You know, Eric, part of me wants to climb the ranks of the fashion world, and yet part of me wants to find a great storefront in Williamsburg or the Village, put my atelier on the floors above, and do my own thing. You know?"

"Yeah, I know. You didn't want to work for anyone else when you were 15, so I can't imagine you would at 20. So why not go for it?"

"Right. That's not going to happen. Look at all the buzz I got with that crazy Agnes girl, right before it all blew up in my face. You don't get second chances in this town."

"Sure you do. I'd be willing to bet that a number of people right at this party would help you get on your feet, including Eleanor. She said earlier that your dress was amazing, and I heard her!"

"Stop this..."

"All you need is a few people to invest in you, Jen. It wouldn't take much to get started. You could even get Blair and Serena on board... imagine having your designs on the pages of _W_ and _Vogue_! Blair's even got an in with the First Lady's stylist. And you know, Serena's going to have a _huge _Hollywood premiere soon. She'll need a dress for that, right?"

She was shaking her head. "Eric, _please_. I don't want this. I'm going to work in Europe for a while. Come visit me in Paris or Milan next year..."

"Jen, c'mon. You don't want to be some big name designer's Laurel for the rest of your career. You'd do all the hard work but never have creative control. Besides, you miss New York, I know you do! Why don't you come back and see what happens?"

Jenny shook her head.

"You used to be so _brave. _I don't get it."

"You wouldn't," Jenny told him, feeling her eyes smart. "The price is too high, Eric. I can't get sucked back into this world. I've come too far."

"Jen..."

"Good night, Eric. I'll see you at breakfast."

And she walked away.

Of course, Jenny couldn't get away from the Upper East Side that easily. On her way back to her cabin, she ran straight into the _last _person she wanted to see.

"Hey, Jenny," said Nate easily, hands on her shoulders. "Want to go up to the wheelhouse now?"

"No thanks," she said, willing her dumbass senses to _shut up and let her think_. "I'm heading up to bed."

"Really? It's only nine-thirty..."

"Yeah, but my body thinks its 2:30 in the morning, London time."

He didn't let her shoulders go. "Well, we definitely want that _body_ of yours to get some rest... and then maybe when it's 7 or 8 over there in London, it'll be ready to join me in the wheelhouse."

"So when are you going to get some sleep?"

What happened next reminded Jenny about just how devilish Upper East Side boys were. For Nate, instead of talking to her like any normal person would, used her shoulders as if they were a handle...

...and pulled her close...

...and put his _lips against her ear_...

...and whispered.

"That remains to be seen, now doesn't it? Sweet dreams, sweet Jenny. When you wake up, come find me."

Jenny jumped. _Oh, my God, no wonder he's best friends with Chuck Bass. Everyone calls Chuck the Devil, but Nathaniel Archibald is just as evil! No, he's _worse!_ Much worse..._

She pulled away, trying to break his gaze, and failing. _So much for amicable indifference..._

"Come find me," he said again, staring at her.

"Good _night, _Nate." Jenny whirled around and almost fell on her heel, something she hadn't done since _eighth damn grade, _but refused his helping hand... and walked as fast as she could to the stairs.

_Come find me..._

Oh, hell no she wouldn't! That ship had sailed! She'd paid the price! Damn it, she'd dealt drugs, alienated her family and friends, _given her virginity to her lecherous stepbrother, _and just gone nuts in general. Of course, when she arrived in Hudson, her mother had taken her to the doctor, and learned that she wasn't nuts... she was, however, hypoglycemic. Thanks to the dextrose pills she carried with her, knowing when she needed a little fruit juice, and the kit she kept stored in her bag, her life was finally, at long last, _normal. _

This was her last hurrah on the Upper East Side. She wasn't going to succumb to temptation. Not to Upper East Side vices, not to Upper East Side boys...

...especially not _that _Upper East Side boy. If Vanessa hadn't had her meltdown earlier, Nate would be banging _her _tonight, she reminded herself. And even though Vanessa was gone, Jenny caught him all over _effing Serena _before dinner, which was just a reminder of everything that went wrong at the end of her junior year at Constance.

There was no way she was going to be the same fool twice, she thought as she descended the stairs. Never!

_Come find me._

No, she would _not! _Jenny Humphrey was going to her room, and she was going to lock the door. And she was going to get the hell off this boat in the morning.

_I'm too afraid_

_I'm too afraid_

_I just don't know what to do with myself_

_Thinking all the time_

_Don't know what to do_

_Don't know what to do_

_You're driving me out of my mind._

_**Chuck**_

Chuck looked around the deserted upper lounge, checking to make sure all the details were in place. This wasn't exactly their usual setting for this particular roleplay, but it would have to do.

This was definitely one of those days when he couldn't get enough of his Blair. The problem, he reflected, was that there was too damned much going on for them to be fully satiated. Sure, he'd awakened her at dawn by kissing her deeply, then thrusting into her inviting warmth (he'd awakened before she had, and had been gently playing with her for the better part of a half hour before that, so she was more than ready), but after she'd come, shuddering and clutching him, she'd yawned, and five minutes into their naughty sunrise pillow talk, murmured about his kid making her tired. _Could he wake up her a few minutes before breakfast? _Not even waiting for his answer, she fell back asleep on his chest... just when he was up (literally and figuratively) for further play. Great.

Then Serena had called. _Then_ he had to get to Harry Winston. _Then _Bart called him to the office over the Yale admission BS. He'd only arrived home a few minutes before their first lunch guests arrived, so there wasn't time for anything more than a quick makeout that left him burning. _Then_ Blair had her meltdown about Serena skipping lunch (he was going to _kill _his sister for upsetting his wife like that), and he had to get her together before everyone could eat.

Once a few of their nearest and dearest spotted Blair actually _eating _instead of nibbling her lunch or pushing it around her plate, Chuck knew he needed to get her out of there before the cat was out of the bag.

"Everyone's going to know, Captain Obvious!" Blair protested as he pulled her into one of the guest bathrooms. "Baby Bass is hungry. Why didn't you just let me eat?"

"You weren't eating, Blair, you were _devouring," _he pointed out.

Without warning, she grabbed his collar and pulled him close.

"I'll devour _you."_

And their lips crashed together. Blair's wicked little tongue plundered his mouth, stealing all of the breath from his chest. Drawing back, she nipped his upper lip...

"Watch yourself, Mrs. Bass," he warned her. "Or else our posterity will just have to contend with all the _marks _their ancestor left all over your pretty little neck."

"Hardly," said Blair, hot mouth trailing over his Adam's apple as she popped open his shirt. "But they _might_ see all the marks I'm going to leave on _yours_..."

And she bit down.

And Chuck just wasn't responsible for his actions after that. Within seconds, they were both naked, her legs were wrapped around his waist, and he was slamming into her with teeth rattling force. When they first learned she was pregnant, Chuck had been gentle because he was worried about hurting the baby, but the assurances of Blair's OB/GYN and how _crazy _this woman drove him led him to resume business as usual.

He rested for a moment, enjoying the feel of her frantic fluttering all around him, her sharp little nails digging into his back as her teeth sank into his shoulder. Her nipples were pebbled against his chest as her delectable breasts pillowed there, the toes of one foot feather light on his backside as her perfect derriere filled his hands.

_Completion._

"Chuck," she rasped, "_move."_

He stayed still, drawing upon every inch of control he had, going against every instinct to slam into her over and over again.

The flutterings of her warmth around his cock became faster, more erotic. Her nails scraped his back.

"Chu-u-ck, come _on..." _Her perfect incisors started to nibble on his lower lip, but he drew her into a proper kiss instead, holding her perfectly still in an iron grip so that she couldn't move on her own.

She was nearing the edge, and he knew it. Even when they weren't playing a game, they were playing. Blair was determined she wasn't going over the edge alone, but he had her number.

"Uh-uh, no you don't," he said against her lips, removing one hand from her butt to take her hand away from _his _rear end, lacing his fingers with hers, knowing what she was about to do to make him come undone. "You're going to scream for me, kitten."

"We have..." she bucked against him, trying to gain some headway, even though she couldn't break his grip, "_guests, _Chuck..."

"They can't hear us, baby," he said, finding words despite the fact that all he wanted to do was spill into her. "I'd imagine they're on the terrace now, enjoying their drinks and tortes and parfaits, never even _suspecting_ that we're..."

Of course, that drove Blair over the edge. The idea of sex in public, where they might get caught, or where someone could hear, _always _got to her. Kinky girl.

"Oh, that's it, baby. You're so hot... so wet... I need you to come all over me, all around me," he coaxed as her scream filled his ears (thank God for soundproofing _several _rooms in their penthouse), trying to keep his wits about him, making immediate plans. He'd withdraw and clean her up with his tongue, drawing her into another climax, then plunge back into her hot, sweet, _tight _warmth for the finale...

But he hadn't counted on Blair. Even as she came undone in his arms, she was going to make him pay. Two small fingers slid deeply past his sphincter...

...and Chuck came apart. He thrust blindly, frantically into his wife... hitting her spot, drawing her into a second orgasm as he exploded.

"Fuck," he swore several moments later, when he could talk again.

"What time is it?" she asked, sighing at the loss of him as she always did.

He glanced down at his Rolex (which was the only thing, other than his HW wedding band, that he had on). "Half hour before we need to leave."

His disappointment was mirrored on her face. After such an intense round, their instinct was to spoon, cuddle, relax... and then enjoy each other again once they'd recovered.

(Over the years, Chuck had decided that a single round of sex with Blair was like having _one _shot of Scotch or _one _mini éclair. It was just an appetizer. Not enough, as her stepfather loved to say.)

Still, they cleaned up nicely, got dressed, and made it back downstairs to cuddle fully clothed a bit before the long afternoon of commencement. It was only interrupted by Vanessa's snooping.

Chuck had really intended to wait until they arrived at the boat for further play. But (and no one _ever _believed him about this!) Blair had other ideas. The look in her eyes as she pulled him away from the crowd streaming away from Columbia and toward Hamilton House was the same look she'd given him as she pulled him into that back room at the bar mitzvah two years before. He'd answered his sexy siren's call by undressing her the second she locked the door of the lounge behind them, his mouth finding every inch of skin bared for his gaze...

Oh, how he _loved_ his wife's pie. There wasn't a woman on the planet sweeter than his Blair. It was a secret he'd discovered during that very first time in the limo... he'd wanted to prepare her, and his fingertips had run over her folds. Heart beating out of his chest, he made the mistake of licking his fingers before he plunged in...

She was better than the best Scotch on the planet. And a million times more intoxicating. Of course, he hadn't been able to indulge that night, or the night of her seventeenth birthday party... the first time he'd loved her that way was about a week later, after he'd perched her on the bar of suite 1812 of the Palace.

Since then, he'd loved his Blair this way a thousand times. Graduation day would be no exception. But again, they had to hurry so they didn't miss the boat. Instead of lingering, Chuck was quick, and then, so was she. At first, she was going to return the favor, but he'd pulled her up, burned her with his eyes, and rumbled two little words:

_Ride me._

Of course, Chuck enjoyed when she gave him head. There was nothing more erotic than the sight of Blair's perfect lips wrapped around him, and the look in her eyes...

But they had to get going. They freshened up as much as they could in the lounge facilities, put back on their clothes (which weren't as rumpled as either of them feared) and made it to the limo, then the boat. Chuck thought they'd get to enjoy each other before dinner, but she'd yawned against his lips...

"Bass, I'm exhausted," she moaned. "The baby's kicking my butt today... I have no energy. I'm sorry, I'll make it up to you, you know I will."

Chuck wrestled with conflicting emotions: the need to claim this wife of his properly so that he could function for the rest of the evening, and the need to protect and provide for the child she now carried...

Fatherhood won out. So he'd carried her to their bed, gently laid her on the spread, and left her to doze. At least they'd have the night, where no one and nothing would interrupt.

And before that, there was dinnertime. And playtime...

Now, Chuck honestly hadn't been expecting that hot little rendezvous in the bathroom. It only happened because he was irritated by Bart stealing their thunder by announcing their baby news. After they'd gotten rid of Vanessa (and good riddance), Chuck had planned to tell his father that what he did was wrong... and he could take that contrived Yale acceptance letter and stick it where the sun didn't...

"Chuck, stop this," Blair said, the second they were out of earshot after dinner was over. "You and Bart can have it out on both scores next week. Today, we're celebrating."

"Blair, it was _our_ news to share," Chuck complained as they walked down the side deck, towards the back of the boat. "You didn't even have the chance to tell your mother first! Bart isn't showing us any respect. He certainly isn't showing _me _any. I wouldn't be surprised if he announced that I was going to college, and he would be the only Bass at BI from now on!"

"Don't be ridiculous, my love," Blair said softly. "Your dad values you. At long last, he _sees _the man you are. You wouldn't believe the things he told me about you right before dinner."

"Yeah, he tells you," he said. "Why won't he tell me?"

"Because words don't come easily to Bass men." She stopped, took one of his hands in both of hers, and raised it to her lips. "You're both men of action. Just know that your father does respect you, Chuck. He just got a little carried away. Bart's as excited as we are."

"Is he? That's not possible." His arms wrapped around her. In spite of himself, he smiled. _She's so fucking beautiful, _he thought, taking in her sparkling deep coffee brown eyes, gorgeous lips, perfect chocolate brown hair, soft rose petal skin... as the ever-present butterflies started going mad. "What would I do without you, Blair?"

"Let's pray you never have to find out," she said, returning his smile as their lips met.

They kissed. And they kissed. And, because they were Chuck and Blair Bass, because making out longer than thirty seconds invariably led to them stumbling into the nearest room (the bathroom), soon he was hoisting her up to the narrow counter, she was undoing the zipper on his tan slacks, he was pulling her Eres thong aside, and the second he slid to the hilt...

"Hey, sorry," Nate said from the other side of the door.

Blair's eyes rolled, and not in the way they usually did when he was seducing her. "Make him go away," she murmured against Chuck's ear.

"No problem," said Chuck against her neck. To his best friend, he called out: "I'll be out in five."

"Five?" Blair whispered. "Just five?"

"Do you doubt me, woman?" His fingers danced along her sides.

Instead of shivering, Blair giggled and swatted him.

"Shhh!" Chuck said. But it was too late. They needed to finish up, and finish fast...

"Chuck, Blair, _come on!" _yelled Nate. "It's my new boat!"

"Oh, stop whining, Nate!" said Blair, with great effort since Chuck was starting to move. "Chuck's just... helping me... with something..."

"Yeah, Blair, I'll just bet he is! When did you two even leave the... c'mon, you have a private cabin! You were late getting here, and you disappeared as soon as we boarded! No one can be _that _horny! Not even you two!"

"I'm _very sorry_... that your sex life... is not up to... expectations, Nathaniel," rasped Chuck, annoyed that he had to appease his best friend _and _his demanding little wife at the same time. "Next time... don't choose a bed partner... from Brooklyn..."

"Chuck, this isn't _about _Vanessa! It's about my _best friend_, and his _wife_, who's _supposed _to be one of my best friends too, getting it on in the only bathroom we have up here!"

Chuck and Blair's eyes met. Blair, in spite of her spiraling state, frowned. Chuck could easily read her look: _Nate's choosing _now _to have this conversation? Right now?_

"Get a room! Better yet..."

But they were both done with their conversation with Nate. Blair was coming, and soon, so was Chuck.

Somewhere through the blood roaring in his ears, heating his body, and making him rock hard within his wife, Chuck heard Nate's plea.

_Damn it, you two! I've got to piss, hurry up!_

Oh, Nate could have _killed _them, Chuck knew. He and Blair had a good laugh over it on their way to their cabin, and continued to laugh as they changed clothes, him into a shirt with vest and slacks, and her into the things in the garment bag marked "drinks and dessert."

Blair let the green satin dress float over her head, then admired her reflection. "I like."

"You always like what I pick out for you," he observed, coming to stand behind her in the mirror.

"That's because you have good taste. Zip me up, Bass..." she ordered, sweeping her hair aside.

Chuck swallowed, zipping her up... when he _really_ wanted to take the dress off. It was insane how much he wanted this woman. Maybe when she was further along, he'd give it a rest...

...but then, he had a sudden vision of his Blair in a few months' time, belly swollen with _his _child, breasts full and ripe, skin glowing...

Letting the zipper go, Chuck let out a deep breath. Blair Cornelia Waldorf Bass was going to be the _death _of him.

To distract himself, his hands went to her hair, lifting it so that he could drop a soft kiss at the nape of her neck.

"Graduation's over. Pin it up."

Her small hands ran over his as she surveyed herself in the mirror. "Okay."

"Okay? That's all? No objections?"

She turned around to sigh and grin at him.

"Sometimes, Chuck, I really can be your sweet and obedient little wife." She stood on tiptoe to peck his lips, then went to twist up her hair and pin it expertly. Chuck watched her, trying to hide his awe (how did women _do _that?), then smirked.

"You don't have me fooled, Mrs. Bass. I'm keeping my eye on you." His hands cupped her middle. "_Both _of you."

"Good," she said. "Let's go up."

They enjoyed the concert. Both Chuck and Blair were genuinely surprised and glad to hear about Serena's new movie, although Chuck was less than thrilled to hear that Dan was going to be the hero ("Chuck, no one will know it's Dan, the character's name is Michael." "Yeah, right. And I'm supposed to believe that Humphrey's doppleganger is _Ian Somerhalder? _My sister is insane... glad Charlie Trout's dead and away from those two.").

When the Black Keys started singing "Too Afraid to Love You," Chuck pulled his wife to her feet to dance. Her arms went around his neck. His hands rested easily on her waist.

_It's heaven on earth in her embrace_

_Her gentle touch and her smiling face..._

"What is it?" Blair said, looking up at him as he drew back.

"Nothing. Just wanted to hold you... with my eyes."

She laughed. "Nine times out of ten when you open your mouth, I want to strangle you. Then on the tenth, you remind me that you're the romantic in this relationship."

"We both are. That's why we work so well." He grinned at her. "We fit, Waldorf. Always have, always will."

"I love you, Chuck," she sighed. "You make me so happy."

"You are my happiness, Blair. Everything I know about love, you taught me."

They stared at each other for a few more intense moments. Holding each other in their eyes. Then Blair pulled him close, tucking her head under his chin, burying her face in his chest.

After the song, Serena announced Adele. Chuck knew Blair had been standing for a while, found a chair, and pulled her to sit down with him. Although she loved the Grammy award winner's music...

"You know, I'm kinda over this concert," she said as Adele finished the "To Celia" theme, adoring eyes catching fire, a wicked smile playing around her delectable lips. "Meet me back in the cabin in five?"

"Actually, why don't you meet me in the lounge? I've got some props in there that will go well with that 'playtime' outfit..."

"Chuck, the lounge? We've already gotten caught once today..."

"Don't worry, everyone's at the concert. There's a few more local acts after Adele. They won't be done until eleven."

Blair smiled at him. "Should I say goodnight to everyone?"

"That might be a good idea. After all, a woman in your condition needs her rest."

"Mmm," she said, dropping a kiss on his lips. "That isn't all a woman in my condition needs... something that I'm sure will be discussed in that lounge, Bass."

"Just come dressed for the occasion, Mrs. Bass."

Which was how Chuck came to be in the lounge. He had a bottle of Perrier, a bucket filled with ice, and the lounge had been filled with indoor trees at his request. (He'd have them removed before his clueless best friend even realized they were there.) Strings of party lights were hung from the ceilings, and the strains of traditional Latin music came from the speakers.

_Ay candela, candela, candela me quemo aé..._

It felt like an eternity, but it was only twenty minutes after they said good night to the last party guests that Blair was entering the lounge. Her eyes were aglow, but her lips were pressed together as she appraised the scene.

"Very good, Mr. Smith. So... where are the knives?"

His hungry eyes swept over his wife. If he'd known how sexy and irresistible Blair would be pregnant, he would have knocked her up years ago. The white peasant skirt swayed around her hips, and the short linen camisole showcased her breasts. She'd left some of her hair up, but the rest fell down around her shoulders... and a single orchid was tucked behind her ear. She'd even redone her eye makeup, making her already gorgeous doe eyes positively luminous.

Chuck swore he must have done _something _right in a previous life to earn a girl like this. Certainly nothing he'd done over the past twenty-two years warranted this good fortune.

For his part, he'd taken off his vest, rolled up the sleeves of his white shirt, untucked it, and unbuttoned it, revealing a white sleeveless beater. He'd also messed up his hair in the way that she loved... he also had the very beginnings of his five o'clock shadow, which she also loved.

He closed the distance between the two of them, fighting the urge to pull her into his arms, leading her to sit with him at the bar.

"No knives."

"Chuck, come _on! _I've been practicing!"

"Not this time..."

"Fine." She folded her arms. "So how about guns?"

His hand came up to rest on her shoulder. "Were there any guns in this scene?"

"You're no fun! How can we play _Mr. and Mrs. Smith_ with no weapons? That's the whole point!"

Chuck looked at her meaningfully.

"Oh, I think we have all the weapons we need."

Blair, in spite of herself, shuddered. Then she remembered the conversation at hand.

"Look, Chuck, if this is about the baby, you are not going to spend the next six months treating me like a glass ornament! We've talked about this, and we agreed. We're going to be _us _no matter what. We have to be!"

"We're still us. I think the activities of today have more than proven that." His hand closed over hers. "Remember our honeymoon, that night in Medellin?"

Blair, who rarely blushed, did just that.

"Yes," she said softly. Then, frowning, "Chuck, did you ever find out _what_ kind of business your father's associate was in?"

"It never came up. Why?"

"Because I think, in order to fulfill your promise to have sex in every country in the Western Hemisphere, we actually _stayed at a drug kingpin's compound. _ I bet _we'll _be the next ones in Witness Protection..."

"That night was _hot," _he said. "In every way."

She reached for a napkin off the bar, clearly going to fan herself. He grabbed her hand...

...and felt as if he was on _fire. _From the look of his wife, the way her lips parted, she felt the same.

"That was the first night we played this game," said Blair. "We didn't used to do recent movies. We're more into classic literature and Golden Age Hollywood film."

"But this is definitely us," he said. "Are you ready?"

Blair smirked at her husband.

"Pour the shots."

He did so, filling two shot glasses with bottled water. But Blair protested.

"You know, Chuck, I think you should actually have a real shot. I'm sure there's tequila somewhere behind that bar."

Chuck shook his head. "I thought you said that I couldn't drink until you could?" She looked down, seemingly shy, when he knew she didn't have a shy bone in her body. "What's going on, Blair?"

"I miss the way you taste."

"What? I taste the same... _oh."_ Chuckle. "But won't it..."

"A trace amount isn't going to hurt our baby. I promise it won't. I just... let me have this, Chuck."

"You don't have to ask twice," he said, scrambling behind the bar and finding a bottle of Glenfidditch. "Will this do?"

She leaned over the bar sexily so that he could get a good view down her cami.

"Oh, I think it will do very well."

Chuck started the music (Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros' "Mondo Bongo"), then sat on the stool opposite Blair. That was their cue to get started.

"_To dodging bullets."_

"_To dodging bullets."_

_The two assassins clinked shot glasses, then threw the tequila to the back of their throats. Never breaking her gaze from his, the hitwoman, Jane, stood up slowly from her stool._

"_So it speaks. But does it dance?" Brushing past the hitman, John, she moved seductively to the dance floor._

"Wait, you picked up my shot glass," Chuck protested, breaking character.

"That's because it has alcohol in it," said Blair matter-of-factly. "That will make..."

"...the fire flare up. Which we don't have on the boat."

"Damn," she said, realizing the limitation. "Damn Nate _and _his boat! No fire pit, no knives, no guns..."

Chuck gazed at her, her gorgeous face, her body in the tight costume.

"Improvise, Mrs. Bass." It came out as more of a growl than he intended. But she got the point.

"Fine."

_Latino caribo, mondo bongo  
The flower looks good in your hair  
Latino caribo, mondo bongo  
Nobody said it was fair, oh..._

_Jane throws the shot glass into the (trashcan), then wiped her lips. As she lifts her arms above her head and swayed her hips to the beat of the salsa music, John stalks her, moving around her, closer to her on the dance floor._

_She reaches a hand out to him. He takes it, presumably to bring it to his lips or to draw her closer, but she breaks free, spins, and dances for him again._

_He can take no more of this. Pulling her close, her arms gently circling his shoulders and neck, the pair begin a sexy rhumba. He dips her, and in response, she turns around in his arms and grinds against him..._

"Fuck!" Chuck swore at the first heady caress of her perfect ass against his groin, turning her back around and crushing Blair's mouth to his.

She broke away, shaking her head. "That's not Brad Pitt's line."

"Forget it. You're sexier than Angelina."

"I think that's the biggest lie you've ever told. Given that it's _you,_ Bass, that's saying something," Blair whispered.

"No, it's the truest thing I've ever said. If I had my way, I'd never let you put on clothes."

"Tell me something I don't know... look, Chuck, I thought you wanted to play."

He pulled her flush to him.

"Oh, I do."

And his wicked look mirrored her own.

_La la la, la la la, la la la..._

_Such is life, such is life._

_**Serena**_

Well. That was the last time _she _was going to have seafood on one of her one-martini-too-many-the-day-before days. She hadn't had food poisoning since that time in Bali when she was twelve. Since then, Serena had prided herself on having an iron stomach.

_I can't believe I'm pulling a Blair, _came the thought, unbidden.

She shook that thought out of her mind, flushing. There was no way that Serena van der Woodsen had an eating disorder. (Although the way she shoveled down food without gaining an ounce always led Blair to say that she did.)

That wasn't what scared her. It was the fact that for the past three weeks, she'd been expecting something to happen that happened every month...

...that simply hadn't happened yet.

There was absolutely nothing to worry about, Serena told herself as she washed her hands, then found a little mouthwash on the shelf to use. Unlike her best friend, her cycle had never come like clockwork (Blair always swore that Dorota could set the clocks at the Waldorf penthouse by hers... it came every 28 days at the exact same hour). Serena's period had always been off and on, and during times of her greatest stress during her partying, drinking, and drugging days, she'd been known to skip a month. No big deal.

_Maybe you should get a test tomorrow morning, _she thought. _Not as if this is the first time. You've always been 100% with your protection, ever since Mom took you for your first Depo shot when you were 14. _

Serena pushed the timeframe for her last shot out of her mind. So maybe she'd been on set and missed that appointment. Everyone knew that it took a while to start ovulating again after you were off. She was due to see the doctor on Monday, anyway.

_And you use condoms religiously... you know your motto, you've told it to every guy you've been with, "No splashing in puddles without a raincoat."_

_Even with _him. _Yes, Serena, he wrapped it up every time! It's just the excitement over the yacht party, your new movie, the pilot for the show... you always skip when you're stressed._

Her forehead rested against the bathroom mirror.

"I'm turning into _Blair. _Oh, no... _this_ is what comes out of hanging with a neurotic person since preschool."

Shaking it off, Serena opened the door, planning to head up to the top deck with her thoughts. She couldn't go to her cabin. The last person she wanted to see or deal with just then was Dan Humphrey.

Instead, she ran into one of her favorite people in the world.

"Hey, S," said Nate, ambling down the side deck. "How's it going?"

"Okay, I guess. Party's winding down... did you say good-bye to your parents and grandfather?"

"Yeah, they're taking the chopper back to the Vanderbilt estate for the rest of the weekend. Told them I might drop by, but it's like Dad said... I don't think I'll be leaving this baby here for a while." He patted the rail of his yacht. "How about your folks, are they staying?"

"No, Rufus has something early in the city with one of the bands he's working with, so he and Lily went with Eleanor and Blair's dads in Bart's copter. Bart's actually staying, much to my surprise, along with me and you, Blair and Chuck, Dan and Jenny, Alec and Eric. I think that's it, everyone else is just taking town cars back." Serena let out a deep breath. "Nate, I really need to talk to someone."

"Really? I thought we said everything we had to say to each other earlier."

She nodded. "I know. But I just... I think I need a friend."

"I see," said Nate slowly. "Do you... do you think it's something that Blair can help you with?"

"Oh, I... I guess I'll talk to her. It's just that I don't know what she's going to say about it. I've been trying to ignore it, and maybe I shouldn't panic, but..."

"So what is it?"

"Not here," said Serena, looking around. "Maybe we should go to the wheelhouse."

"If you want privacy, I don't think so, there's crew up there. Let's go to the lounge, I haven't really gone in there yet. It was locked earlier, but I'm sure one of these keys fit."

Serena followed Nate down the side deck. He put a key into the knob, turned it...

...and was greeted with quite a sight.

"Not... _again!" _Blair gasped, looking up.

Nate gaped. Serena spoke for both of them, covering her hands with her eyes.

"Oh, my _God! I'm going to be blind!" _

Next to her, Nate had found his voice. _"Chuck!_ Didn't we talk about this earlier? _This is my boat!"_

"Nathaniel," Chuck grated out, "unless... the two of you... want _in_... I suggest... you... _close that door and leave us alone!"_

"Lock it!" Blair said, voice coming out in a little scream.

Before Nate could respond, Serena slammed the door and shook her hands as if she was trying to get something off of them.

"What did you do that for?"

"Nate! I'm going to be scarred for life! Don't tell me that we were supposed to just _stand_ there!"

"Those two have no shame," said Nate. "And they're about to have kids! Imagine our nieces and nephews walking in on them!"

"Come on, Nate, I'm sure they..."

"This is the _second time today, _Serena," he said. "Remember, I lived with them when they were dating, right after Chuck bought the Empire. So did you!"

"They weren't exactly going at it like crazy when we were together. I thought they were discreet enough..."

"All right, then. What about the year after, when they were pretending to hate each other, we wrote a truce, and then..."

Serena stuck her fingers in her ears at the memory. "Don't remind me! That was just _awful."_

"You know it's getting out of hand," said Nate matter-of-factly. "We've got to stage another intervention. If we don't, they'll just get worse!"

He walked back towards the door, but Serena grabbed his hand.

"Nate! What if they're not done!"

"If we leave them alone, they'll be at it for _hours. _No, we're going to say what we have to say, and then, we're going to banish them to their cabin until dawn."

Serena sighed, then reluctantly nodded her agreement.

"Blair! Chuck! Serena and I need to talk to you!"

There was shuffling, and then a pause.

"Go away, Nate," said Blair. "I'm already embarrassed enough that you have _no manners _and your mother never taught you to _knock."_

"It's his boat, Blair!" Serena called out.

"It's my husband, Serena!" Blair snapped back.

Nate shook his head. "They're decent again," he said over his shoulder to Serena, then turned the doorknob and walked in.

Serena followed, trying to avert her eyes. But Chuck and Blair were dressed (technically, they'd been mostly dressed when Serena and Nate walked in on them), and were sitting next to each other at the bar. Blair's arms were folded, but one of Chuck's arms was around her shoulders. They wore matching defiant looks.

Nate sat down in one of the chairs next to the sound system, and indicated another for Serena.

No one said anything for about five minutes. Finally, surprisingly (because it was rare), Chuck broke the silence.

"What's most offensive about all this," Chuck said, "is that you've interrupted us _twice_, Nathaniel_..."_

"No, _Charles," _said Nate icily. "You are not at home. You're guests here on my boat. You two ought to be ashamed of yourselves."

"I'm not, and neither is Chuck," said Blair. "Since when are you two authorities on what married people should do? Oh, wait, that's right... _neither of you are married!"_

"It's not about marriage, Blair," said Serena. "You and Chuck were just as outrageous before you said 'I do.' We get the point, you love each other, and you both love to..." Serena couldn't go on. "Ew, what am I saying? Blair, Chuck, this has to stop."

"You're about to have a _kid," _said Nate. "Look, you quit drinking for the baby, so maybe it's time to re-evaluate the sex marathons..."

"Excuse me?" said Blair.

"Nathaniel, you don't get to dictate..." Chuck began.

"...or at least, their _location,_" Serena continued.

"Bang each other all you want, but do it in the confines of your own bedroom unless you're sure no one else is around." Nate looked at Chuck, then Blair, then Chuck again. "Don't think that we won't force you two to sign another treaty. Notarized."

Serena shook her head. "Natie, I don't think that's such a good..."

"Fine by me," said Blair, smirking. "That last treaty led to some of the hottest sex of our lives."

"That piano hasn't been the same since," Chuck agreed. "Neither has the pool table, or the..."

"Chuck! _Blair!" _shouted Nate, even as Serena reddened and buried her face in her hands with a mortified "Oh God."

"No treaty, then... never mind! S, these two are beyond help. Their kids are going to be messed up no matter what we do."

"Oh, stop being so dramatic, blondes," Blair said. "Chuck and I aren't going to be humping each other around our children. We aren't animals, you know. In fact, rumor has it that we're actually more _civilized _than the two of you! Go figure!"

"It's just that today was a celebration," Chuck continued, "and, well, this is how we celebrate."

"You two know that! And because of this little yacht party, it's not like we could just leave a restaurant and go home... we're stuck here with you people. Trust me, it's better this way."

"Remember what things were like _before _we got back together?" Chuck reminded them.

Serena and Nate looked at each other. Remembering.

"Okay," said Nate. "Just... can you _please _stick to your cabin while you're on _this _boat? That's all I ask."

"Chuck?" Serena asked, when their brunette best friends looked at each other, then cracked up.

"What, sis?"

"Do you think you can do that?"

He stared at her, then looked at Nate. "Only because it's the two of you."

"Speak for yourself..."

"_Blair," _said Nate.

"Hey, I'm pregnant," said Blair. "Not making any promises. But, seeing as Chuck's promised, I suppose I can accommodate you, too."

Before any more commentary could ensue, a knock summoned the Non-Judging Breakfast Club's attention to the open door.

"There you all are," said Bart. "Nathaniel, you have a few guests wanting to say goodbye to you on the main deck, including William and your parents."

"Thanks, Bart," Nate said. "I'll head out."

"Wait, Nate," said Blair. "Chuck, maybe you should go with Nate and Serena to say good-bye to everyone. There's something I wanted to chat with Bart about..."

"Actually, Blair, it's fine," said Bart. "I'm feeling rather tired, so I don't think that I'll stay overnight. I'll call you from the limo on my way to the airport."

"Still off to Hong Kong in the morning?" Blair pressed. "If you're tired, why don't you give it a day or two?"

"The problem over there can't wait until then. Chuck can fill you in."

And then, Bart Bass did something that none of the Non-Judging Breakfast Club had ever seen him do.

He clapped his son on the shoulder, and as he did so...

...he brushed his lips against the top of his daughter-in-law's head.

"Good night, everyone," said the powerful businessman.

"Good night," they all chorused.

Once he left, the four sat in stunned silence. Blair spoke first, as she usually did.

"I think my father-in-law somehow became a clone of my stepfather... as if the world needed more than one Cyrus Rose."

"Yeah," Serena agreed. "That was so weird! Wonder what kind of client's in town this time? One of those family values types who will be more than happy the Bass bloodlines are continuing?"

"He has been acting rather strange lately," said Chuck, thoughtfully. "Perhaps he'll be better as a grandfather than he was as a father."

"Trust me, Chuck, the last thing your kid needs is an overbearing, overinvolved, Upper East Side grandfather," declared Nate. "Speaking of which, I'm out. Remember what I said, you two. See you at breakfast... and _not _before."

"I'll go with you," said Serena. "Chuck and Blair, see you in the morning."

"Pleasant dreams, sis," said Chuck.

"Good night, S... and do us a favor?"

"What is it, B?" For her best friend was already staring at her brother, very brazenly, and Chuck was staring right back.

"Make sure that lounge door is _locked_ on your way out_. _And make sure Nate loses that key! Shouldn't be that hard, it's _Nate."_

And Serena closed the lounge door behind the Basses, shaking her head. Those two!

Nate was waiting for her at the railing. He turned to Serena, "So, S, what was it you needed to talk privately about?"

Serena, who had pushed her fears out of her mind as she always did, found that they had just resurfaced.

"Let's say goodbye to everyone first. And then, we'll talk. We have all night."

**~to be continued~**

A/N: This chapter was heavily inspired by two songs: The Black Keys' "Too Afraid To Love You" and Joe Strummer and the Mescaleros' "Mondo Bongo." I have to thank MrsGGFan (Kim) on the TVFanatic Chair superthread for insisting that the Keys were Dan's favorite band. She's right! After all, he is "Lonely Boy!" Theme music here: youtube DOT com/watch?v=a_426RiwST8

"Too Afraid to Love You" was definitely my theme music for writing this chapter. If I knew how to make fan videos, I would have fan vidded this one, all day every day, because it's perfect for GG. All of the characters on the boat can relate to it... Nate, Dan, Serena, Jenny, Chuck, Blair, Bart, even Eric, whose perspective we'll have next time (it's been too long, and we need to see what his evening's been like).

"_**My gears, they grind more each day... and I feel like they're gonna grind away..."**_

youtube DOT com/watch?v=NnzIrRykilA

I knew the soundtrack concert would be part of Dan's graduation gift, and everything else just snowballed from there. I'd love to see Serena have more of a voice, and hated the direction the writers took her in at the end of Season 5; she's my favorite of the Gossip Girls (can't you tell?). If the show could make Dan a successful novelist from something Vanessa stole from his drawer, why not have Serena write screenplays? Why not have someone invest in her pilot... especially if she told them that Dan Humphrey of _Inside _would be her partner? I knew my Serena had just been involved with a movie from "Sabrina's" perspective when I first started this fic, but the idea for the television show came later.

One more thing: Vanessa's not out of the picture yet. Far from it! Also, there are two beloved recurring characters from GG show canon that will be making an appearance before the end of the story; V _will_ have some allies in her quest to take down the Basses.

(Blair lovers: I know that she didn't get a POV section in this chapter; my betas suggested that I save it for later. Trust me, it's explosive.)

Ben Jonson's "To Celia" was a natural choice for Serena, her movie, her character, and the song. I hope my fellow Chair lovelies who ship Serenate and Scarter don't run me out of fandom for using our Adele for a DS moment! Take comfort in the fact that Derena have a long road ahead. There's no way they are going to resolve all their many issues in the chapters remaining, if they ever will. Also, recall that this fic departs from canon after the Met steps at the end of 5.19. Much of what happened in 5.20-5.24 on the show is different in the P&C backstory.

Besides the concert, the other big setpiece in my mind was the Chair roleplaying scene. A while ago, I said to my TVF girls that Chuck and Blair's chemistry on the screen was the hottest and most believable I'd seen since Brangelina's in _Mr. and Mrs. Smith. _I watched the movie recently and it was _so very _Chair. They're kinky, they banter, and they traveled in South America during their honeymoon in this AU... I _knew_ they'd done that roleplay although it's not their usual fare. They're so old fashioned in their tastes, but I could SO see them in this scene: youtube DOT com/watch?v=K35H3HlC2mE

Three more chapters (yes, I'm breaking my lucky seven because of reasons): "Night," which will be pretty M rated, "Tomorrow," and "Forever" (or something like that). As always, you can find me at ** DrHolland_GG **– follow me, and if you Tweet mostly about _Gossip Girl_ and all things Chair, I'll follow you back!

Chuck's onesie (with Chuck in it) and Nate's _healed _upper lip for my betas **K **and **DrGG, **respectively, for being amazing people who help me bring these updates to you. (K also gets bedhead!Chuck for good measure.)

A special serenade of "We Are Young" (wasn't 5.24's last scene _epic?_) to my Chapter 4 reviewers as of the time of this posting: **VeraDeDiamant, bonafide11, TriGemini, LaurenChairEndgame, ebs12, Xxoo, Curious Blonde, SaNaa.91, BedwardEndGame8D, Added **(Thanks for the amazingly detailed reviews! Wanted to send you a PM!)**, cris150, ChrysX, livelybass, NoFate2608, BellaB2010, LowerCase32, ayonickyx5, BiteMeBass, Ames, Dede, Kathrynm37, Meg, CBfanhere, ggreviewer, BikerChick101, notoutforawalk, Trosev, Krazy4Spike, pty, abc, jojo.4ever, Maryl, **and **bfan.**

"_**So if by the time the bar closes, and you feel like falling down,**_

_**I'll carry you home..."**_

You know the rest! "Night" is next... we're going to earn every bit of that "M" rating... until then, _don't you forget about me!_

**XOXO, **

Dr. Holland


	6. Night

**POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE**

**Summary:** One year after the events of Season 5, it's college graduation day for Nate Archibald, Dan Humphrey... and Blair Waldorf Bass. Serena and Chuck are planning a celebration to remember. Everyone's back in town, including Eric, Jenny, and Vanessa. Even in adulthood, the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite are still scandalous! A Chair centric, post-Dair fic. (AU after 5x19, with a few late season 5 spoilers.)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in the Gossip Girl universe, not even (sadly) Chuck or Nate. Major props to Cecily von Ziegesar, the CW, the producers, actors, and crew, and everyone involved with bringing these amazing characters to life.

**Chapter 6 - Night**

May 2013, aboard the _Invictus_.

**WARNING: Please be aware that this chapter earns its M rating in the final two scenes. Reader discretion is advised.**

_**Ensemble**_

"Jen, are you up? I need to talk to you..."

"...I'm done waiting. You promised me an answer at dinner, Eric!"

"Blair, what's going on?"

"...hey, S, what was it you wanted to talk about? S? What is it?"

"Dan, seriously? Do you know what time it is? What..."

"...what I don't get is why you're _forcing it! _You can't rush someone into a decision like this, Alec!"

"Oh my God, Chuck... I've messed up... so badly... she still hates me..."

"...oh God, Natie, I've screwed up my life before, but _this time_ might leave all the others in the dust."

_I'm so tired _

_Of playing  
Playing with this bow and arrow_

_Gonna give my heart away..._

_**Vanessa**_

The little police station in the municipal complex for Croton-on-Hudson didn't really have a proper jail cell. So Vanessa Abrams, having turned herself in, was sitting in a locked conference room of some sort just outside of the chief's office.

She couldn't believe the way the day had gone. Was it just this morning that she and Nate were running side-by-side through Central Park? If she closed her eyes, she could still feel the breeze in her hair. Never could she have imagined that his graduation day would be their downfall as a couple.

And it was the end, Vanessa swore. This wasn't like their previous breakups. Nate had been _horrible _to her. But, of course, his best friends were Blair and Chuck Bass, which spoke volumes.

Vanessa never thought of herself as a vengeful person. That was before her best friend (well, former best friend) and the entire Humphrey family got ensnared in the values and mores of the Manhattan elite. If it weren't for people like Serena and Nate, Dan would have never left Brooklyn, no matter how many private schools he attended. But they... they had _ruined _him. That's what these people did. They corrupted everything they touched.

_Nate never loved me, _Vanessa thought, a tear trickling down her olive face. _He was just using me to pass the time until Serena or one of her doppelgangers noticed him again. _

_How could he?_

Vanessa had been thoroughly humiliated. After her innocent eavesdropping had been discovered, they'd all subjected her to their verbal abuse. Nate had talked about how he hated that she'd obviously _used _him ("What, are you planning your own _Inside? _Jealous of Dan, huh?"). Chuck had threatened to ruin her family ("So tell me, Abrams, how's that sister of yours doing? And do say hi to Gabriela from us... I hear one has to be careful in the Vermont real estate market, properties get_ seized _all the time"). And Blair, of course, had berated her appearance ("_Where_ did you get those shoes? Clearly you've been dumpster diving again... how's the 'freegan' movement going these days?).

And then they didn't leave her alone for the rest of the day. She _finally _got the chance to relieve herself when they first boarded the boat, Nate standing guard outside of the bathroom in their cabin. When she emerged, he seemed to have softened a bit.

"Vanessa, I hope you've learned your lesson."

"Nate, I don't want to hear it. We're over."

"Look, I tried to tell you a long time ago! In this world..."

"_Fuck _you and your fucking _world, _Nathaniel Archibald! Apparently you're never going to grow a set. You'll always be your family's lapdog, and one of the Basses' pathetic henchmen! Well, I hated it when we were seventeen, and I think it's disgusting now! As soon as we get off this boat, you will never see me again!"

Then there was the tour of Nate's yacht (Vanessa was embarrassed for him... what a nasty, wasteful display of wealth and greed, but she'd expect no less from the likes of Chuck Bass). She managed to linger a tiny bit as the group filed in and out of the wheelhouse. Then she saw it... a cell phone.

"Could I see that?" she murmured to a crew member, hoping that no one would catch her. (Bart Bass had eyed her significantly before stepping back out on the deck.)

The crew member shrugged. "Fine."

Trying not to rush, Vanessa's hand closed over the phone. She had no way to hide it, and knew she'd be discovered...

"What's that?" asked Nate the second she emerged from the wheelhouse. (Vanessa thought he looked like an idiot in his captain's hat.)

"What?" She played dumb, trying to think of something.

"What's in your hand?"

"Oh, this? It's..." And then, thinking quickly, she said, "it's my time of the month. So... you know."

Nate frowned, then shrugged. "Yeah. Maybe you should go take care of that."

"Maybe I should. Be right back."

Vanessa had almost made her escape, but Bart missed nothing.

"Just a minute, Miss Abrams... Boris? Please accompany this young lady wherever she needs to go."

So Vanessa made her phone call in the bathroom on the main deck, running the water so that her voice was obscured. 911 miraculously picked up in whatever small town off the Hudson they were floating near, and Vanessa had caught that their evening destination was the Half Moon Bay marina. It was enough...

But no, it wasn't. Maybe she'd gotten off the boat but she had been thoroughly humiliated by Serena, Bart, and _especially _Blair. Thank God for the Humphreys remembering (if only for a moment) they were regular people and asserting that Vanessa didn't deserve to be treated like a prisoner.

She had no idea what Bart Bass had told the officers who'd taken her in. Vanessa was sure, however, that the _Vanity Fair _reporter who'd been covering the party had been well compensated to forget about the scene they all believed she'd caused. And now, she was sitting in a conference room at midnight, staring out the window at the darkness outside.

Well, who needed _Vanity Fair? _ Vanessa would sell a story to the highest bidder that promised to help her bring down the entire Upper East Side. The Occupy movement would have _nothing _on Vanessa's expose. And she wouldn't write it as fiction, like Dan had (that _coward_).

Vanessa Abrams was going to sell the true story of the Bass family to the highest bidder. There was dirt and corruption behind the Bass billions. There just _had _to be! What Dan had discovered senior year was likely only the tip of the iceberg. Vanessa knew if she played her cards well, the Bass name would be disgraced, Bart would be in jail, Chuck just might have to get a _real job..._

And that smug _bitch_ Blair would learn _exactly _what "freegans" did, because that's the only way she'd be able to eat.

(Vanessa glossed over the fact that Blair's family was rich as well; if the scandal ran deep enough, perhaps Eleanor would have to distance herself from her daughter to keep her stuffy, _overpriced_, _overrated_ label intact.)

They'd ruined Vanessa's life. Now she was going to ruin _them._

_**Nate**_

Blinking, Nate sat down on one of the chaises of the uppermost deck. Eyeing the hot tub, then the blonde standing before him, he couldn't help but remember the summer before. Back then, all he'd be thinking about was how to convince Serena to strip down to her undies (or nothing at all) so they could _talk _(or not)_._

What a difference a year made. Trying to keep his tone light, he beckoned her to the chaise next to his.

"Hey, have a seat, S. All the pacing's making me nervous."

"I want to sit down, Nate, but I've been trying to put something out of my mind and I _can't_..."

Nate chortled. "Chuck and Blair? Thankfully, we didn't see much this time. They had a lot of clothes on, thank God."

"I'm not talking about Blair or Chuck," Serena said, flopping onto the chaise. "They're the least of my worries right now."

Nate frowned. "So what's going on? You're not in trouble again, are you? I thought with the movie and all, you'd pretty much gotten your life back on track."

"My career's going fine," said Serena. "Perfect, actually. Mom made some comments earlier about me finishing up at Columbia or transferring. But I'm like Chuck. College really isn't my thing. Maybe I'll go to film school later, but I prefer getting out there and getting my hands dirty. I've learned more about the industry from working with both Janes and David O. Russell than sitting in a classroom could ever teach me."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," said Nate, "but I'm glad I'm done. I finished because I didn't want to be the only one in my family who didn't. Plus, I've got some plans for expanding the _Spectator_, and I'm glad I don't have to worry about getting to class on time anymore."

Serena didn't say anything. Suddenly, it was as if she wasn't sitting next to him. Her mind was clearly somewhere else.

"So if it's not your career, the movie, or anything else, what's got you so upset? Is it the whole thing with Dan? Do you think it's going to be hard working with him after everything that happened with him, Blair, and Chuck today?"

Serena blew out a puff of air.

"I wish writing that pilot was the only thing I had to worry about. Nate, I think I've just ruined my life, and Dan's too."

Nate started to get a little frustrated. Trying to figure out what was going on with Serena was _so _difficult sometimes. He had no idea what she was talking about, and he wished she'd just spill it. Looking deep into her starry eyes, he tried to keep his tone light.

"What's wrong?"

"Natie, I can't tell you."

"That's nonsense. You can tell me anything, S."

"I... I don't want you to think less of me. The only one who might _possibly _understand what I'm going through is Chuck... thank God nothing came of that situation with Jenny all those years ago. They were able to put it behind them. But... oh, _God... _I am the _worst..."_

"Is this like that time you 'killed' Pete Fairman but really didn't?" Nate asked, trying to remain patient. That was the difference between Blair and Serena, he reflected. He'd know _exactly_ what was going on with Blair by now. She was much more direct. But with Serena? They could be at this all night. And since Blair was preoccupied, there wasn't anyone to assist.

"No, it's worse. Mom was right, and so were Pete's parents. Pete destroyed himself. But I'm so scared that I might be bringing another person into it..."

"Serena! _Spit it out_." Nate was shaking his head. "You know there's nothing you can't tell me. We've been through everything together. _Say it."_

She bit her lip, looking at the hardwood floor beneath their feet, then into his eyes.

"If I don't get my period tomorrow, Nate, I don't know what I'll do. I've been praying, pleading, _begging _the universe for it to come for nearly a month now. And..."

Nate's mouth gaped open.

"Oh."

"Natie, _I can't be pregnant. _I just can't. You know, I thought that all the drinking, drugs, and partying meant I just _couldn't_, unlike our best friend, who has to be the most fertile twenty-two year old woman I've ever met! Mom's had me on the shot since _forever. _ And after... after everything I've done with guys over the years, some of which I can't even remember, I just can't believe it." She closed her eyes. "It's not real, Nate. It can't be."

Nate glanced her over. She didn't look any different. But he hadn't known that Blair was pregnant either...

"Wow. So if you are, who's the father?"

Serena looked insulted. "You know who. He's the only one I've been with since you."

"So," said Nate. "Dan."

"Yes. Dan. He's the only possibility."

Nate tried to tamp down the pangs he felt at this. Deep down in a place he denied existed while he dated Blair, he always thought that someday _he _and Serena would be a family. The details were always vague, but as he'd told her before dinner, he knew their story wasn't over. Someday...

But someday wasn't right now. Serena needed his help... and his friendship. Nate would always be there for her, in whatever capacity she needed him to be.

"Hey, it might be okay. I mean, you told me earlier you were going to try to figure things out with him..."

"No, it's not okay, Nate. Dan doesn't _love_ me. He doesn't care about me. This is the _worst _thing that could happen right now." She was biting her fingernails, clearly frustrated. (Nate hadn't seen her do that since seventh grade.) "It's also weird and freaky. Dan's my _stepbrother. _We _share a brother _who lives in Boston and wisely wants nothing to do with our crazy family. Nate, I can't believe I dated someone who _wasn't_ from the Upper East Side and _still _managed to inbreed..."

"Yeah, there is that." Nate tried to figure out something, _anything _to say to make her feel better about the situation. "Look on the bright side. Most of our ancestors were probably first cousins, and look at how fabulous _we _both are."

In spite of herself, Serena laughed with him, but it rang hollow.

"Good. That's the first laugh I've gotten out of you in a while," Nate grinned. "So. What are you going to do?"

"Well, I've got to go to the doctor Monday morning. I knew I was late getting my shot, so I scheduled the first available appointment once I was back to New York... I don't know _what_ I was thinking. How could I be so careless? I've been so busy with the movie and planning the graduation party. Maybe that's my excuse, I guess."

Serena chewed her lip. Looking away from Nate, she looked up at the star-studded sky.

"But they usually run a pregnancy test first, especially if you're late. If I am... I'll just take care of it."

"Take care of it?" repeated Nate, frowning.

"You know what I mean. Dan never has to know."

In spite of himself, chills ran down Nate's spine. He always figured that he was pretty liberal in his attitudes about things. His family were longtime pillars of the progressive establishment, producing some of its most beloved politicians on the local and state level. Although the Vanderbilts were not the Kennedys or the Roosevelts, Nate knew that Grandfather had big plans for him and his cousins (excluding Tripp, whose weaknesses and jealousies were his downfall). So Nate wouldn't condemn Serena for any decision that she made. Nothing could make her fall from grace in his eyes.

All the same, Nate couldn't help but see Serena as the girl who'd meant so much to him for so many years_. _If this were _them _a year ago, if they had conceived a child while they were together, would she have done the same thing? 'Taken care of it' while he was none the wiser?

Nate knew that the girls in their world did that sort of thing all the time, particularly when young, or when "cleaning up" from the messiness of an affair with the wrong kind of man. It was a fact of life on the Upper East Side. But...

"Serena, it isn't my place to say anything. But I definitely think you should tell Dan about this."

"Nate, I _can't._ He spent the two years before we hooked up again _hating _me. He dated my best friend, and obviously isn't over her yet. What he did today showed me that what we have isn't a relationship. It isn't anything, and it never will be. I don't owe him..."

"You owe it to yourself, S. I mean..." Nate struggled for words, wishing like hell that Blair were here. "Take Dan out of the situation. Say he was a random, like a one-night stand or something. Do you think you'd be okay with not having this baby?"

Serena bit into a cuticle, ruining her careful manicure, drawing a thin trickle of blood.

"I don't know, Nate. It's the absolute _worst _time for me to be having a kid, and Dan Humphrey is the absolute worst person in the world to have a kid with. At this rate, I'm going to give my mother and aunt a run for their money when it comes to horrible mothering. I mean, I got _wasted _at Dan's graduation party last night... if I am pregnant, I'll bet my kid has fetal alcohol syndrome already..."

"Stop being so hard on yourself," said Nate. "I know for a fact that _my _mom didn't give up her daily glass of port with _me_."

"Yeah, well, I didn't have anything to drink tonight," Serena said. "Seeing what Dan did to me after your graduation was my wake-up call. I held onto the same glass of champagne all night so people wouldn't get suspicious. I need to have my head about me so I can _think."_

"Yeah, you should think, but you should talk to him, S. Dan's... yeah, well he's _Dan_, but he means well and I know he would do the right thing. Remember when he thought it was you with the pregnancy scare junior year? And look at how attached he got to Georgina's son Milo. Serena, you've got to tell him. If Dan ever found out that you... well, that you chose for both of you, he'd never forgive you."

"Dan has yet to forgive me for being Serena van der Woodsen," she returned. "Somehow, I doubt that asking his permission to terminate this hypothetical pregnancy would make him despise me any less than he already does."

"Serena, Dan doesn't despise you. You didn't see the way he was looking at you all evening. I did. After we talked earlier, I watched him. The way he _looks_ at you... all I can say is that if you and I were still dating, he and I would have had some words."

"It's not enough," Serena said. "He's broken my heart so many times. When I tried to move on, I got blamed and he acted like I was the world's biggest slut. If we had a kid tying us together, it would be worse."

"Maybe that's not true. You're about to work together. Dan's books and your movies, they're coming out of your experiences together. Seems like you're always going to be tied together. In spite of everything he tried to do with Blair, everyone knows that Sabrina in _Inside _was you... and everyone will know the Mark character you wrote..."

"Michael..."

"Whatever, everyone knows that it's Dan." He rested a hand on her knee. "S, you _have _to tell him. If not tonight, then tomorrow. 'Cause if it were me? I'd want to know. And I think that even as much as he hates Dan, Chuck would tell you the same thing."

Serena blew out a puff of air, leaning back into her chaise.

"You know, there were so many times while we were planning this thing for you guys today that I thought I'd tell Chuck. But I knew that telling Chuck would be just like telling Blair, and Blair would take over, so I just put it off." Serena stopped attacking her fingers and folded them in her lap. "Told you I made a mess of everything."

"No. It just seems like it's a mess right now because you're in the middle of it. But S, if you're really about to have a kid, that's actually great. You know, the one thing I kept thinking about Chuck and Blair's son or daughter is that they're going to be so much older than any kids the rest of us would have. He or she isn't going to have a Nate or a Serena of their own... you _know _those two aren't going to let their baby have play dates with just anybody..."

"Dorota and Vanya have little kids. They'll let their kid play with them."

"Yeah, but their kids aren't going to school on the Upper East Side. They're not going to have to figure out the rules of this crazy world we live in. The four of us have been off and on, and up and down since we were little, but when the chips were down, we always had each other's back... but who would their kids have?"

Serena's eyes crinkled. "Nate Archibald, I can't believe that you want me to ruin my life just so that baby Bass can have his or her own Non-Judging Breakfast Club! This cycle, the madness, it has to end somewhere!"

"Baby Bass will be as lucky to have a kid of yours for their best friend as Mama and Papa Bass are to have _us_," Nate joked, then turned serious. "Talk to him."

"Natie, I don't want to."

"Serena..."

"Okay. I'll do it. _Tomorrow, _after we're off this boat. Because I won't be responsible for my actions after he says some douchey, judgey Dan Humphrey thing, or blames me for not being 100% with the protection. I wouldn't want your new yacht to become a crime scene."

Nate grinned at her. "And tonight?"

"Tonight, I want to just stretch out on this chaise, look up at the stars, and pretend that it's a quiet summer night on Montauk, and we're thirteen again..."

"Come on, S, it was never quiet," Nate chuckled, leaning back himself and enjoying the view of the stars, unobscured by Manhattan's light pollution. "Blair and Chuck were always plotting or sniping at each other about something or the other... it was always nice when they went off for a while, so we could have some peace."

She cracked a grin. "Yeah. But I wouldn't trade either of them for the world."

"Are you sure? I mean, there's loyalty and all, but I've had my moments with them!"

"So have I! Remember, Chuck tried to get into my pants, and Blair dated the boy I was in love with. But those two would do anything for us, Nate. God, I wish I could share this with them."

"Well, whatever you decide, S, you know we love you. Remember, when you talk to him, Dan's just a guy, okay? If he freaks out and you find out you're really pregnant and want to keep the baby, _forget him_. You're a Rhodes and a van der Woodsen, and you've always been unconventional. We'll help you... Blair, Chuck... and me."

"Nate?"

"Yeah?"

"We're supposed to be pretending that we're thirteen again."

"Right. So..."

"Dan _who_?"

Their hands found each other.

And their fingers intertwined.

_**Chuck**_

"The best thing about pregnancy is that it clarifies one's basic needs," said Blair, perched like a queen atop one of the aluminum counters in the yacht's galley, brandishing a _framboise _macaron in her hand. "Sex, sleep, and food."

"Apparently in that order," said Chuck, head buried in the refrigerator. The chef and his staff from Gramercy Tavern had disembarked during the concert, leaving only a few leftovers from dinner and fixings for the breakfast that Serena _swore_ she knew how to prepare. Chuck didn't trust her cooking skills, though, having been subjected to a bit of it over the years. He'd ordered all kinds of provisions to stock the galley, and planned to get up early enough to beat Serena to it.

After all, he had a wife and a child to consider. He couldn't very well have his kooky sister _poisoning _them, now could he?

"I just hate that this kid is killing my cravings for Laduree," Blair was saying. "There were whole years at Constance when I existed on nothing but macarons, a few bites of parfait, and gin martinis."

"Sophomore year, to be precise," said Chuck, pulling out a basket of strawberries. "Yes, I recall your high-functioning drunkorexia well."

"Don't remind me... see, that's why I know we're having a boy. No daughter of mine could resist one of these." Picking up a strawberry in her other hand, Blair looked at it, then sighed. "First martinis, then macarons... Chuck, what's next? Do I have to give up Cyrus' favorite salt bagels with lox, capers, and sliced onion?"

From her voice, Chuck could tell his wife's mouth was watering. Cyrus Rose was the only person in the world other than Chuck Bass who could get Blair Waldorf to _eat _without overthinking it. Secretly, Cyrus was Chuck's favorite among Blair's dads (although he'd never tell her that; his wife still worshipped the ground Harold walked on, and likely always would).

"We'll get you all the bagels you like once we're back home," said Chuck, studying a can of Reddi Whip as if he were seeing a Jedi light saber for the first time, then putting it back into the fridge. "This is just a bedtime snack..."

Lifting the strawberry to her lips, Blair took a bite, depositing the uneaten macaron on the counter next to her. She sighed her content, and Chuck grinned. (She always did love fruit.)

"Now, this is better. But you know what I'd really like right now? Olives. I've craved them for weeks now... that olive bruschetta we had at dinner was divine."

"Yes, I know. But what kind? They've got cocktail olives, kalamata..."

"You _know _what kind."

Chuck held back a smirk. Pulling back, he deposited the small jar of _niçoise_ olives into his wife's hands.

"Thank you," she said, screwed the lid off and reaching inside for one. Much to his surprise, she didn't immediately start digging in. "Come here..."

He leaned in. Blair deposited one of the small, salty-sour olives into his mouth, staring at his lips as she did it, almost as if she were studying them. Chuck, in turn, licked her fingers, lingering on her pointer... releasing it with a hungry _smack_...

"Bass, I really _am _hungry," she chortled, pinching him as he moved away and she started back into the jar. "But I have to stop eating so much. Mother made a comment..."

"...which has no basis in reality," Chuck finished smoothly, drawing out a wedge of Brie on a plate and raising an eyebrow. "You're feeding our child."

"Yes, but she does have a point. So many women use a baby as an excuse to pack on the pounds like Jessica Simpson... Chuck, you know I can't eat that, it's bad for the baby."

"Brie?" Chuck glanced at her, then remembered. "Of course. It's made from raw milk. You'd think that since babies drink..."

"_No."_

He put the cheese back. "So I suppose honey's out, too? It's local."

"Exactly. Strawberries are fine. Is there any more fruit?"

Chuck's scrounging (and looking behind all the platters of wrapped food) revealed a bag of fresh cherries, a tiny basket of mixed berries, two perfect plums, three mandarin oranges, two lemons, and a lime. As Blair nibbled on more olives, Chuck found a knife and began to expertly slice up the lemons and the lime.

"I just _love_ watching you do manual labor," she teased him, looking coy over a particularly large berry. "It's incredibly sexy. Where did you learn how to do that?"

"Prague, then Paris," he said, smirking at her over his shoulder. "As you well know."

"Yes, during your ill-advised Henry Prince phase." Before he turned back to his task, Chuck saw Blair's eyes darken... she _still _hated Eva, all these years later. "But I thought you were terrible during the week you worked at the bistro?"

"I was terrible at waiting tables, but prep was a different matter entirely. You don't grow up playing hide-and-seek in hotel kitchens without learning a thing or two."

"You're better than just 'a thing or two.' Maybe BI can branch out, and you could have your own cooking show. 'Chef Bass, preparing bass...'"

"Bad pun, especially since neither of us particularly _like _the taste of bass, although no one needs to know that. Bad for business." Finished slicing the citrus, Chuck found a pitcher and lined the inside with the slices of fruit. "There are so many other delicacies that come out of the sea."

"Many of which I can't enjoy until our child is a year old... well, if it's any consolation, I do love your cooking. I'll never forget the meal you made on our honeymoon... where were we, Borneo?"

"Papua New Guinea," he supplied, coming back over to kiss his wife, then returning to the freezer for ice. "You _did_ enjoy that, I remember. I was surprised."

"Why? Being alone with you out in the untamed wild?" she teased, reaching out a hand to run through his hair. "It was fun."

She _had _enjoyed camping with him. Chuck had never liked being without his creature comforts, but during the trip around the world he took with Nate two summers before, he'd been surprised by how much he enjoyed being out in the fresh air, sunshine, and wind. Camping wasn't really a Chuck Bass thing to do, and for him, "roughing it" for Chuck Bass meant ecotours and safaris with all the frills.

Because they were getting a lot of press when they first married, Chuck and Blair sometimes had to get creative about their destinations and activities when they got sick of being hounded. Between Bart's "resurrection" and the mess than Blair had made in Monaco, they were recognized all over the world... when they really just wanted to be alone.

So they went off the beaten path at some of their destinations... and ended up having the time of their lives.

"It was," he agreed. "No one would believe it if we told them. Chuck and Blair Bass, on an extreme adventure ecotour? Sleeping in a treehouse in the Amazon, drinking cattle's blood with the Masai, whitewater rafting in Malaysia? Who could have guessed?"

"Who indeed?" Blair said, fingertips tracing patterns on his neck and down to his shoulder as he tossed ice chips into the pitcher. "But Chuck, our honeymoon was so amazing. I've never traveled like that... I loved everywhere we went, especially some of the places where few Americans ever go."

"I'll never forget it, either."

"Sometimes I wish that, instead of me going to NYU and you going straight to Bass Industries, we had taken a gap year together. We could have taken time to travel the world and see _everything_. It would have made so much of a difference. We could have built houses in Haiti or Bangladesh, tutored kids in Mongolia, experience all the things that we never knew existed until last year."

"We could still do that," Chuck said. "Maybe not teaching, because the only brats I want to deal with are the ones we produce. But we can travel anywhere you like after you're done with Yale Law."

"We're going to have a _kid_."

"So do people in those countries. At least, I assume they reproduce, much as we do..."

"Um, Chuck, my love? Let's leave our Brangelina channeling to our roleplays. We are _not_ adopting a baby from every continent, and we are _not _dragging our own children along for the ride."

The pitcher filled with ice, he pulled back and considered his wife. Of all the many Blairs there were, all of which he loved, midnight Blair was one of his favorites, and not just for the obvious reasons. This was a Blair that no one else knew... not any of her previous lovers, not her parents, and not even Serena... just him, Chuck.

Her dark hair was down again, the carefully placed curls mostly reduced to waves due to the humid evening... and their earlier activities. She'd taken her makeup off after they left the lounge, but her perfect, mostly unblemished skin was still slightly pink, her lips slightly bee-stung, also from their earlier activities. (There _was _a red mark at the delectable place where her neck met her shoulder, and he _knew_ she'd get him once she discovered it later.) She was still wearing her Mrs. Smith costume, but she'd only bothered to close the middle two buttons of the cami, enough to hold it together.

Blair would be _mortified _if anyone else saw her like this. Chuck didn't like to dwell on her past (although he knew it was hypocritical of him, he didn't care... most of his dalliances meant less than nothing; hers usually came at his expense). Before their first time together, Chuck knew that Blair thought love and lovemaking should be like it was in the movies, with music swelling and pretty words and pretty _feels._

Although he'd taught her otherwise, and had encouraged her to explore her most carnal desires with him even when they were young, after things ended between them, Blair blamed _him _and _them _for not being perfect. So he was pretty sure that she'd never allowed her mask to slip with her other lovers, not even Louis or Dan.

Chuck, however, could see past any and all masks that Blair tried to put on. In that limo after Victrola, he learned that beyond her prim exterior, beneath all those silver screen Audrey dreams, there was a yearning for something far deeper. Yes, there was her raw sensuality that had stunned him at first, the voracious sexual appetite that more than matched his own, measure for measure...

...but underneath it all, there was something even deeper that Blair yearned for. Something that he longed for, too.

_Acceptance. _For everything that she was... for everything that she'd ever be.

He could give her that. For he'd always seen the real Blair Waldorf, _all of her..._ and to him, she was the most intriguing, exciting, and beautiful woman on the planet. _His _woman. Their world knew how hard she'd worked to turn the devilish, notorious Chuck Bass into a real human being, but only their nearest and dearest knew exactly how much Chuck had changed Blair, too.

Chuck leaned in to kiss Blair again, but tenderly, without any urgency. She completed him in ways that were beyond words. Not even their best, most connected lovemaking could fully express everything that she meant to him.

Blair lengthened the kiss, tongue tracing his lips, urging them to part for her. This he did without any further coaxing, reaching an arm around to place the pitcher on the other side of her. They'd traded dozens of kisses today, but even eleven months after their vows, this never got old.

Chuck knew that it never would.

Her small hand came up to cup his jaw as she drew back, and she looked into his eyes with a soft smile.

"You're so good to me, you know."

"That's to be expected. If you manage to catch one of us," he leaned forward, nuzzling her nose with his before drawing in for another kiss, "there's no better husband than a Bass."

"Lily didn't think so. She tried going back to your father, then went right back to Rufus," Blair teased, fingers caressing his temple, cheekbone, and chin.

"Lily, as much as she means to me, does not count. Remember, Lily actually _produced _my sister... speaking of which, we've got to talk Serena out of this Humphrey pilot thing..."

"Did you know?" Blair asked. "About her movie or the pilot?"

"No. I thought she was getting the Black Keys because they were Dan's favorite group, and Adele because you love her. I still can't believe my sister pulled a fast one on _me_."

"I can't believe she didn't tell me about it, and that I had to find out with everyone else."

Holding on to Blair tightly, Chuck helped her down from the counter. "I can."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"She didn't want you telling Humphrey."

Blair blinked. "Excuse me? Before today, I haven't had a conversation of substance with Dan Humphrey in over a year."

"Exactly. And Serena didn't want to give you a reason to have one." Chuck went into the fridge, pulling out bottles of Fiji bottled water. "So she didn't tell you. Which is why she didn't tell me, because she knows I tell you everything."

As he poured the bottles of water into the pitcher, Chuck could feel the heat of his wife's gaze around his collar. He _knew_ that Blair didn't want to hear this, knew that she was too fragile before now for them to have it out about everything that happened the year before right when they reunited.

By the time they discovered Bart's whereabouts the previous May, Blair had been emotionally Scotch-taping herself together. Chuck, in spite of his anger, frustration, and sadness over Blair's actions, knew that she was feeling crushing grief over losing her baby, guilt over stringing Louis along, and running away from the mess she'd made by getting involved with Dan. There was also the fear she'd had of loving Chuck and being with him again, and then the anguish she'd felt about his condition immediately after the accident.

No, Blair wasn't quite ready for Chuck and Serena to have it out with her, at least, not back then. Serena accepted her tearful apologies and expressions of remorse with hugs and a vow: "We won't talk about it... not now..."

And Chuck, after she'd finally come to him after the press conference announcing his father's return from the Witness Protection Program, wearing the Harry Winston ring that Bart had brought to the Waldorf penthouse ("This belongs to you," Blair told him his father said to her. "No matter what happens between you and my son in the future, he meant for you to have it.")... after her tears, the way that she whispered his name, the way her hands shook as she reached for him...

_Chuck. I'm so sorry for everything. I miss you so badly. You've not only become the man of my dreams, you always were. I was just too silly and too blind to see it. _

_After everything we've been through, you said there should be no secrets between us. Well, here's the secret I've been holding: I love you, Chuck. I'm _in_ love with you. I still love you so much that it consumes me. You're still number one on my speed dial. I still feel vulnerable when I'm in your arms. I'll still do anything for you. I still want to be your family. _

_I still believe in us, Chuck. Because in spite of everything I've tried to do to change it, I'm still me... and you're still you. We're still Chuck and Blair, Blair and Chuck. Nothing in this world will ever change that._

_I'm done pretending. Chuck Bass, I am yours. Whether you want me anymore or not, whether you can ever forgive me for everything I've put you through, I'm yours. And I'll be yours forever... if you want me._

He hadn't answered her in words, not then. But after he kissed her, and they spent a week holed up at suite 1812 of the Palace (for old times' sake), Jack had come to them with a scheme to take back Blair's dowry from the Grimaldis.

Chuck, for his part, _still_ wasn't sure that she wouldn't leave him. Sure, Blair hadn't seen any of her clothing besides the white dress she'd worn to the press conference, because neither of them had come up for air before Jack's visit. They hadn't talked about or dealt with anything. Chuck had been skeptical that Blair would want to go anywhere near Monte Carlo, especially after what happened with Louis and the international scandal.

So he asked her the same question that he did late one night many years before:

"_You sure?"_

This time, instead of kissing him in response, she clasped his hand and squeezed it.

"_Yes, I'm sure. This time, Bass? I'm all in."_

And she _was. _Chuck had the love of his life back, and after what Chuck assumed was a similar tearful and heartfelt apology, Serena had her best friend and sister-in-love again. Both he and his sister loved Blair enough to give her time last year. Time before they could truly tell her what her actions had done to them.

Now, Chuck figured, she'd had plenty of time.

Thinking about all of this in the present, Chuck closed the pitcher, waiting for Blair to start interrogating him. When she didn't, he picked up the pitcher and turned to her.

"Could you grab that bowl of fruit? I think I saw some petit-fours... maybe the baby will like those better than macarons..."

"_Chuck,_" said Blair, grabbing the bowl a tad severely. "How come you didn't tell me Serena was still mad at me?"

Frown. "What?"

"You heard what I said!" Blair exclaimed.

Chuck looked around. Lowering his voice, he said, "Look, we can't have this conversation in the kitchen. Let's go back to our cabin."

They made their way out of the galley, then below decks and down the hall to their cabin. Once inside, they deposited their snacks on the end tables. Then Chuck sat in the chair where his father had been seated before dinner, drawing Blair to sit on his lap.

"Where's all this insecurity coming from?" he asked, smoothing an errant lock of hair behind her ear. "Blair, what's going on?"

"Oh my God, Chuck... I've messed up so badly. She still hates me..."

He scoffed at her exaggeration. "Please, Serena van der Woodsen could never hate you. In fact, I'm just glad you're both straight because if you weren't, I..."

Blair cut off her husband's fantasizing. "Clearly, you haven't paid attention. Chuck, Serena still hasn't forgiven me for Dan. That's what was behind her little rebellion today when she missed my graduation luncheon. That's why she didn't tell me anything about the fact that she's written _and _is co-producing the biggest chick flick of the year! What, was I supposed to find out later, and just watch her premiere on _Access Hollywood _with the rest of the proles?"

"It's..." Chuck said slowly. "I don't think it's that, baby."

"Then what is it, Chuck? Because I have a hard time believing that you two have _really _forgiven me when I'm constantly being treated like I'm on parole!"

He shook his head. "That's your own guilt talking, Blair. Neither of us feel that way, and we haven't been treating you as such. We've both forgiven you. If I hadn't, there's no way I would have made you Mrs. Bass, especially not so soon after everything that happened."

"So what's going on?"

"What's going on is that we all see Humphrey differently. I can't stand him, Serena's in love with him, and you..." He cupped her chin, then lifted it up so that he could study her face, examining her features. "You don't seem to get what you and Humphrey did to all parties concerned. Not really."

"Chuck, I wish I hadn't..."

"Don't lie to me, Blair," Chuck said gruffly. Although his words were harsh, his voice was tender. "You thought he'd be easier to be with than me. You thought all of them would be."

"You _scared _me, Chuck," Blair said. "Being friends with you growing up was always a little like befriending a cobra... or maybe a lion. But what I felt the night before I turned seventeen..."

He sent her a half smile. "Butterflies?"

"_You _felt butterflies. _I _felt like I was on fire." Chuck kissed her, then let her continue. "I was young, but I'm glad I figured out how to describe it. It was like being _consumed_, Chuck... and it still is." Between their bodies, their fingers intertwined. "Whenever I'm with you, you become my entire _world."_

"Don't you think I feel the same way?" he asked, thumb caressing her fingers. "So why would you ever go to Dan Humphrey, especially when you told me to wait?"

"For the same reason I went to Louis. Chuck, I was so frightened when I woke up and heard you might not live. When Serena told me that, I... I closed my eyes, and I... I wanted to die, too. I know you think I was crazy for my God-pact, but my first prayer was that I could be with you... and if you died, I just... I know, it's so melodramatic and stupid... I always judged Juliet in the Shakespeare play for being such a dumb, dizzy _airhead_... but now I think I know exactly how she felt."

"But I didn't die," he pointed out.

"I know, but... it wasn't about God, Chuck. I know that's what I called it, but when I look back, that's not what it was. It was the fact that as long as I was with you, I knew that if anything ever happened to you, I'd go through the same agony I went through that November. I knew that if I were with Louis, you wouldn't pursue me. You..." She couldn't look him in the eyes, and she muttered what was next. "I knew that you loved me enough to let me go. You wanted me to live the fairytale I'd wanted since we were children."

"You had to know _that _would kill me," Chuck said. "If you'd stayed with Louis, I..."

"That marriage was doomed from the start," Blair observed. "I couldn't help it, Chuck. When I saw you that day... it took everything I had not to run away with you. But... it was all too fresh... if I'd tried to run just then after everything I'd promised Louis, I knew fate would catch up with us again... that whole thing was like déjà vu, except I was wearing my wedding dress."

"The shock and scandal annoyed me, but we were actually _good_ that day. Had I known Georgina was taping it and Humphrey was broadcasting it, I would have made it worth their while." Pressing his lips to her ear in a smirk, he whispered, "If the world was so shocked by our confessions of love, imagine how they would have reacted to a sex tape."

"You would _not _have seduced me out of my wedding gown that day!"

"Please, I seduced you out of _three _full bridal ensembles last year. Louis had better be glad I'm a gentleman."

Blair pursed her lips in mock disapproval. "You're no such thing! I didn't think I'd manage to pull myself together before the Palace reception after the _mess _you made of my hair and makeup in the limo! Not to mention my..."

He shrugged. "I'm Chuck Bass."

Blair sighed, then smiled wickedly. "How many times have you played the surveillance tape from our bar mitzvah escapade? I know you pulled it, you _always_ do..."

"Just once. It's more bittersweet than titillating. We truly made love that night, Blair." He kissed her forehead. "But, back to 'true confessions.' _What_ was Humphrey?"

"My last-ditch effort not to go back to you." Blair bit her lip. "Dan had become my friend, and he was so infatuated with me."

"With _Clair_."

"Same difference."

"No," said Chuck, firmly. "You're not Clair."

"Yes, but maybe back then I wished I was, Chuck. After all, Clair wasn't desperately in love with Charlie. Clair didn't get entangled with a prince who didn't have her heart, and she didn't get pregnant with said Prince's offspring, either. Clair was so much better than me."

"Did you even read the entire book, Blair? Clair was a caricature of you," said Chuck. "A watered down Brooklynite version of a born queen. Out of all of us, Humphrey did the most damage to _your _character in that trashy book."

"Dylan loved her."

"Dylan was the only man who ever would. A European prince wouldn't have given that fickle slut the time of day, let alone Chuck Bass."

Blair smiled shyly, then frowned.

"Well, I think Dan did his worst to Serena. She was so hurt."

"That motherfucking asshole broke my sister's heart," Chuck said. "He's still breaking it. I should have done more than punch him."

"She deserves more than him," said Blair.

"Yes, because of what happened between him and you."

"_What?"_

"Blair. Imagine if the situation had been reversed. Imagine, if you will, that Serena and I had been the ones to date."

Blair's eyes darkened again, dangerously.

"Serena's your adopted sister. Legally, you couldn't. It's incest."

"Well, let's pretend that my father's six month marriage to Lily van der Woodsen never happened..."

"Serena's _never_ liked you like that." Blair was still _not _amused.

"Yes. And _you _never liked Dan like that. In fact, when you were a free woman, you rejected him."

"That's because it was like kissing my _brother... _if I had a brother." Blair shook her head, remembering. "Now, kissing Nate was sweet..."

"Thanks a lot," Chuck groaned. He didn't think he'd _ever _get over his jealousy of Blair being with his best friend first. (Idiotic Nate, who actually let a girl like Blair get away from him. But Chuck was ever thankful that his best friend was a dolt.)

"Whatever," Blair said. "And kissing you was... is..." She blushed, eyelashes fluttering down over her doe eyes.

"I know. Go on."

"But kissing Dan? I wanted to get over you _so _badly after you traded me for the Empire. I wanted to know whether all the hype over Dan was justified. After all, Serena's been with all kinds of guys, a teacher lost her job over him, and he dated a big Hollywood movie star. So I grabbed him, went for it, and..."

"And?"

"You _ruined_ me. Dammit, Chuck, _you've ruined me!"_

He chortled, grabbing her as she laughed, holding her closer than close. Lips in her hair, eyes closed, feeling her breath against his exposed collarbone. With her body flush to his, he cradled both his love _and _their first child, growing every day inside of her.

Fuck, he _loved _this woman. This brilliant, gorgeous, frustrating, fickle, sexy, _crazy _woman.

"So... you thought he was like kissing your brother, but you dated him anyway? Seems like a very Blair thing to do..."

"Very funny," she snorted, then sobered. "To be honest, Chuck, for a long time after Audrey's death, I didn't really want to have sex at all. After the accident, Louis and I were never intimate again. And Dan... well, I really tried to get into the idea of being with him, since I knew he was infatuated with me. I thought that maybe if I kissed him enough, something would spark..."

"Sexual chemistry isn't like a Boy Scout Troop trying to start a campfire for the first time," Chuck asserted. "Either it's there or it isn't."

"It wasn't there with him. I..." She bit her lip. "I thought you didn't want to hear about this. It's been over a year, and in all this time, you've never asked."

"As your husband and lover? I really don't. But... as your _first, last, _and _best _tutor when it comes to the intimate arts, I confess to a sort of morbid curiosity."

"He was _terrible _in bed, Chuck! I don't know how Serena does it, especially after having had so much experience! Dan's the worst lover I've ever had! The first time was horrible, and I was drunk the second time... then most of the other times, too. The couple of times when I wasn't intoxicated, I... I didn't even..." She looked up at him, frowning, looking over her shoulder as if someone else was in their room. Then she whispered: "I had to _fake _it."

Chuck looked down at her, smirking.

"That bad?"

"Yes, that bad. No one's been like you, that's for sure... but I'd never had to fake it before."

"Well," said Chuck. "Since I doubt my sister's been faking it with him all these years, I'd say that the punishment fits the crime."

"_What?"_

"Blair, every time you ran away from me, you ended up cheating _with _me. Every single time... with every single man." His fingers twined through her hair, loving its familiar, silky feel as it slid along his digits. "I know no one else can make you feel the way that I do, inside the bedroom _or _out of it, because of one simple fact."

"Which is...?"

"I've been with women from all over the world. All shapes and sizes and kinds. But no woman anywhere ever came _close _to what it's like with you. Not everyone is lucky enough to find what we have, Blair."

"I know that now," she said softly. "I'm just sorry that I couldn't forgive you until it was almost too late. And Serena... Chuck, there's something going on with her. Can't you tell?"

"Serena?" Pause. "Yes."

"She won't share it with me. But something is definitely wrong, and it's not the movie. I haven't been able to pull it out of her... she keeps everything between us so... so _superficial, _Chuck. We laugh and we talk about how much we love each other, how we're there for each other, but we don't have our heart to hearts anymore..."

"Give it time, beautiful," Chuck said.

"You didn't need this much time."

"I did. But I also needed you back in my bed... and you didn't sleep with the love of my life... well, given the lack of skill Humphrey has in pleasuring you, perhaps I'm assuming incorrectly." He took her small hand in his, put it on her own breast, and began kneading. "What were we talking about again?"

"So easily distracted," Blair complained as he undid the buttons of her camisole, clamping her arms to her sides so that he couldn't remove it. "Chuck, I'm not giving in until you tell me how to fix me and Serena. She says it's not about Dan..."

"It's not. It's about you _dating _Dan."

Blair glared at him. Sliding off his lap, she started to button her shirt again.

"Serena hasn't been in a relationship with Dan since senior year of high school! Lily and Rufus are married! They share a sibling!"

"And you know that if all of those facts were true about me and you, cue the banjos from _Deliverance, _because none of that would keep us apart. Blair, you flaunted the fact that you were with Dan in front of the entire world. You made a point to host a party to announce to the world that you were a couple. You paraded him everywhere. Now, I knew something was wrong with you, but I didn't have to watch my best friend and the love of my life all over the international press..."

"You watched me and Nate date again after your father disappeared! You didn't stay mad at me _or _Nate! And don't even get me _started _on what Serena and Nate did..." Blair went to fold her arms, but Chuck stopped her.

"No," he said firmly, grabbing her hands, making her face him. "We were _children _back then. Serena was a drunken fifteen year old girl who was so upset about what she'd done that she ran straight to that psychotic bitch Georgina, and got caught up in her trash. Nate was a fifteen year old _boy _you were giving blue balls because _neither _of you were really sexually into each other..."

"We..."

"_Blair."_

"Fine," she conceded. "But you didn't throw tantrums and bail on Nate when he dated me. In fact, you gave me the prom of my dreams..."

"We were _children _back then. We are now _adults. _Our actions have greater consequences now. Your fling with Humphrey affected not only Serena and me, but Bass Industries, and an entire country. I thought you'd wait out your sham of a marriage, live out your princess dreams, and then resume your life, but you bailed and headed straight to Brooklyn."

Blair's eyes filled with tears. "I always knew you still blamed me for everything!"

"I don't. I've never held it against you," Chuck said. "I'm the last one to judge anyone's choices, so I don't. I'm just stating the facts, Blair. And the fact is that I got you back. But Serena never got Dan back, not really... and when she tried to pretend it was okay, what he did to her today just proved that it isn't."

"I..." Blair bit her lip.

"I know, Blair, that your thing with him wasn't just about me, was it? It was about Serena. If you two were okay, you would have _never _done that to her. So what was it?"

Blair looked down at their clasped hands, tears dripping. She'd never voiced it aloud, never allowed it to come to the forefront of her thoughts.

"I thought... every man in our world except for you has fallen for Serena... and you've even admitted that you were attracted to her when we were younger! So even though Nate and I weren't meant to be, I _hated _that she _always _had his heart. And she was less than great about the Louis thing, as if she couldn't _believe _the prince went for me, not her. Because for our whole lives, Serena van der Woodsen has gotten _everything_. So maybe..." Deep breath. "Maybe, after everything with Louis failed, I thought I'd pull an Eliza Doolittle and get 'a little of my own back, anyhow,'" she finished, alluding to one of Audrey Hepburn's most famous roles.

"Revenge."

"That I didn't even know I wanted. I... I was glad that Dan and I hurt you and Serena... I hurt so badly for so many years, even when I was with Nate... and then _you..."_

She cried, burying her face into her hands, unwilling to face her husband. But Chuck couldn't take the sight of her crying. He never could.

Pulling her into his arms, he held her close as she sobbed.

"I love you," Chuck murmured. "Stop this, you'll just upset the baby."

"I know," Blair said, clutching at his open collar. "But I don't understand. How could you and Serena take me back? I... I would have made me _work _for it a little more..."

"That's because we aren't like you, Blair," Chuck said. "My therapist puts it like this. The person who's been forgiven much finds it easier to forgive than a person who has never fallen. My sister and I have been to hell and back. We _know. _Just give Serena some time."

_**Dan**_

"Argh, Dan!" Jenny said, rubbing the sleep from her eyes as she opened the door. "What time is it?"

"Almost two," he said, walking into his sister's cabin and plopping himself into the chair next to the bed. "I just need to talk and I've burned my bridges with almost everyone else on this boat. You know I wouldn't wake you up if it wasn't important."

Jenny sighed, plunging back down onto the bed. "Whatever. Spill it."

"What if I've been _wrong?_"

"About..." she questioned him warily.

"About... well, everything," Dan replied.

"Yes! _Finally!"_ Jenny said. "The only thing that would be better is hearing Dan Humphrey actually begin a sentence with 'I was wrong.'"

"Come on, Jen, I don't always think I'm right."

Jenny didn't say anything. She stared at him, eyebrow cocked.

"Yeah, well... maybe I'm just used to relying on my instincts. And maybe I'm used to my instincts being right. Dad always said I've got a good head on my shoulders. At least, I _used_ to have a good head..."

"A _big _head," his sister muttered.

Dan ignored her. "Jen, I think I've made a big mistake. One of the worst of my life."

She blinked. "Sounds serious! Okay, spill it."

"I think... I mean, I think I was wrong about Serena. I'm still in love with her. I think... I think she might be the one for me. But because of this thing with Blair, I may have ruined us."

"Gee! You think?"

"You could at least be helpful..."

"Dan. What you did today was _crazy. _Eric and Alec told me all about it. How could you, Dan? Serena thought you guys were back together, and you went and dug up all that old stuff with _Blair? _Who's happily married and _pregnant?"_

"You don't understand. Last year, before I went to Rome..."

"Ugh, I don't want to hear it. I'm just glad I was in London when all that happened. Dan, you're an idiot. It's always been Serena for you." Jenny tilted her head to the side and regarded her brother. "So what are you going to do?"

"I don't know. Serena hates me now. I've actually never seen her like this." Dan shook his head, wishing that his eye wasn't so sore. "Now she's got this... this _movie _coming out that's about me, and she wants to work on this cable pilot with me..."

"The movie's not just about you, Dan, at least from what I heard. Maybe that's the problem. It's always about _you_. It's never been about Serena. You're talking about how she's the one for you, but have you actually been good for her?"

"Of course I'm good for her!" Dan snapped. "I always have been good for her... Dad said a long time ago that a guy like me was exactly what a girl like Serena van der Woodsen needed. When she's with me, Serena's _herself_. She's not this It Girl, she doesn't party, she's actually a pretty cool person. I'm sure I'm the one who got her reading better literature, and appreciating art..."

"Oh, and I'm sure growing up as part of Upper East Side society and going to excellent private schools had _nothing_ to do it."

"Well, Blair was so much more into that stuff than Serena. Or at least, I thought she was." Dan ran his fingers through his hair, which was shorter than when he was going through his shaggy starvingartist phase the year before, but it still needed cutting. "I get the feeling I'm going to learn a ton about Serena when I finally see this movie. Did anyone even know she was doing it? Nate didn't say a word..."

"Nate doesn't care about anyone other than himself," Jenny snapped.

Dan shook his head, bewildered. "Wait a minute, is this about Vanessa? Because if she did call the cops, that was crazy. It's like I don't even know her anymore."

"Yeah, whatever," Jenny said quickly. "Dan, I don't want to talk about Vanessa or Nate. What I'm wondering is why you woke me up instead of talking to Serena. Sounds like this great revelation you've had should be shared with her, not your kid sister." Dan let out a puff of air in her direction. "Ew, beer breath... go away so I can get some sleep."

"She's not in our cabin. She hasn't been down there all evening. I... I don't want to confront her if she's with Blair or Chuck."

Jenny sat up. "What would it take to get you to go away?"

"Come with me and help me find Serena? Seeing as you're the only person on this boat still speaking to me. Maybe you can mediate so she'll actually talk to me."

"What? No, Dan! Serena hates me!"

"She hates you less than she hates me, apparently. At least that's where we stood when I last saw her."

"Dan, I'm exhausted. My body thinks it's like six in the morning!"

"Jenny..."

Groaning, Jenny threw a small fist into her pillow. Tumbling out of bed, she snatched up her robe (silk with an exotic print) and threw it over her nightshirt and shorts.

"Hey, thanks..."

"Shut up, Dan. Let's go."

_**Serena**_

Before this voyage, Serena hadn't really been up the Hudson River much. Like many Upper East Siders, she had little knowledge of the state beyond Westchester County. There were so many other rivers... and seas... and oceans to experience. So Serena had never thought much about the one in her backyard.

Serena van der Woodsen was most at home when she was out in the sun and on the sea. A born siren, she knew how to play the role of an Upper East Side heiress, having been required to play it all her life. It perhaps would have been more fitting had she been born in Malibu, reared on the Riviera, and came of age walking along Ipanema (_tall and tan, and young and lovely)_. Serena had never found a body of water or a beach she didn't love... she was always more herself in the Hamptons than on Park Avenue.

New York would always be her home, but she was resigned to the fact that it would never have her heart. Serena appreciated her family and friends, but she didn't have a deep love for the city the way that Blair and especially Chuck did. (Sometimes Serena suspected Chuck put off college just so that he didn't have to leave town.)

_Nate's like me,_ she thought. _ He can take this city or leave it. _Serena turned to her side, towards the man dozing on the next chaise over. Nate always looked so _innocent _and cute asleep. He snored lightly, his new captain's hat covering his face. Serena thought that she really could stay there forever, listening to him, looking up at the stars.

Long ago, on a star-studded spring night just like this, she and Nate had their first dance together. They were eleven... no, _she _had been eleven, and Natie was already twelve (his birthday was in April, hers was in late June, a few days after Midsummer's Eve). It was the first big party of the year at CeCe's Hamptons house and there was quite a crowd... as always, she, Nate, Blair, and Chuck quickly tired of the adults' inane chatter and escaped to the beach.

After a while, Blair complained of being cold (that girl was _always _cold) and wanted something to drink, Chuck said he was thirsty too (and also said something else more smarmy), Blair smacked Chuck's arm, kissed Nate on the cheek, yanked Chuck up by the ear...

...and Serena and Nate were left alone. They talked, and Serena remembered appreciating how easy Nate was to talk to. Then the band struck up a tune from Sergio Mendes and Brasil '66, and she got up to dance alongside the beach. (Even after several years of ballet lessons, Serena looked like an awkward baby giraffe... nothing like Blair, whose precise steps were always lavished with praise.)

_Come dance with me, Natie... _

After a few protests, he did. And they swayed clumsily to the bossa nova beat, carried faintly on the wind from the party, saying nothing, pretending as if they didn't feel anything from being in each other's arms as the music played...

_The dark is filled with dreams_

_So many dreams_

_Which one is mine?_

_One must be right for me!_

_Which dream of all the dreams_

_When there's a dream for every star?_

_And there are, oh, so many stars_

_So many stars..._

...until Blair came running down the walk towards the beach, wrapped up in one of CeCe's afghans, calling out their names, Chuck ambling a few feet behind, hands shoved into the pockets of his shorts...

And the moment was over. Nate and Serena released each other, and Blair went into Nate's arms, giggling... and Chuck and Serena shared a look. (Serena looked away; Chuck turned away and strolled up the beach, by himself.)

That was so many years ago until it sometimes felt like a dream to Serena. So much happened in the decade since then... too much, Serena thought.

_What did she really want?_ This morning, she thought it was Dan Humphrey. Still, still there had been a reason she hadn't spilled what she suspected, why she kept eating shellfish and swilling martinis.

_Tell him._ That was Nate's opinion. A part of Serena had hoped that by telling Nate, maybe he'd volunteer to make things right. After all, Chuck had been prepared to be a stepfather to Blair's child with Louis... maybe Nate would do the same for her? Serena had always loved him...

Yet... there was always Dan.

People didn't get why she loved Dan, what she got out of being with him. Sometimes, she wondered herself... and those wonderings had led her, like him, to take up pen and paper, and begin scribbling (not in Moleskines like Dan, or Tiffany heart diaries like Blair, but on endless legal pads in her Grandma CeCe's Montecito home two years before).

As she lay on the chaise on Nate's boat, staring up at the midnight sky, Serena still didn't know.

_Among the countless days_

_The endless nights that I have searched_

_So many eyes_

_So many hearts_

_So many smiles_

_Which one to choose? Which way to go?_

_How can I tell? How will I know?_

"Out of... oh, so many stars... so many stars..." Serena hummed softly to herself, in time to Nate's heavy breathing, hearing the footfalls on the stairs.

She looked up and the magic of the moment was broken. For there stood Jenny Humphrey, followed by the man she _least _wanted to see tonight.

"Hey, Serena," said Jenny, looking past her, cracking a grin at Nate's dozing form in spite of her tired eyes. "Someone had a little too much to drink tonight, didn't they?"

"Yeah, Nate's a total lightweight," Serena said, eyes on Dan. "Always has been. What's going on, Jenny?"

Dan didn't say anything. He just stared at her. So Jenny spoke up again.

"Well, Dan and I were talking, and he was saying a lot of things to me that I think he ought to be saying to _you_. So if you want, I can wake up Nate and... I guess we could go to the wheelhouse. That way, the two of you could chat here, then come join us when you're done."

It was a tempting offer. Serena didn't want to talk to Dan about this, but Nate's words resonated with her: _You need to tell Dan. _Well, she might as well get the unpleasant duty over with. And if things were awkward after their talk, Serena could just spend the night in Nate's cabin, since Vanessa was now gone.

"No, that's okay," Serena said. "I need to chat with Dan alone, so we'll go to our cabin. Jenny, could you stay here and make sure Nate gets to his cabin once he wakes up? It's clear, but he doesn't need to be out here all night. Bar's unlocked and fully stocked, so you can just fend for yourself."

Jenny frowned as if she was going to protest, then shrugged and sighed. "Sure, whatever you need." As she walked past Serena, Jenny whispered to her brother over her shoulder, "Good luck!"

Dan's dark eyes were still fixed on her. Serena felt exposed.

"Hey, Serena, I..."

"Not here," she snapped. "Downstairs."

So Serena followed Dan down the stairs to the main deck, around the corner, and down the stairs to the cabins. As they passed the cabin Blair and Chuck were sharing, Serena tried to brace herself for any untoward sounds, but all was silent. Dan opened the door to cabin number three, beckoned, and Serena walked in.

She sat on the bed. He sat next to her.

She folded her arms and looked away.

"Serena, there's something I need to say to you."

"Me first," she said, turning back to look at him. "Dan, I love you. I'll always love you. But after today, things are going to change between us. Your actions over the past year and a half, maybe even longer, have made me feel even lower than anything my father ever did. I won't rehash what I told you during the concert, because all of it still stands."

"Serena."

"I'm not finished. Dan, I want to move on, once and for all. I still want to work with you on this television pilot. If it gets picked up, it'll be great for both of us. If not, then we'll cross that bridge when we come to it. But I need to mend and take care of myself, and I can't do that if I'm with you. I never could."

"Serena. _I am sorry," _he breathed. "I hate that I made you feel that way, and I... I want to make it up to you."

"I don't know that you can," Serena said flatly. "The only way you could make it up to me is to actually see me, not put me on a pedestal, then throw rotten eggs when I fall off. It's been six years, Dan, since we first dated. We've tried over and over again. And yet you still risked everything to have an intimate conversation with my _married _best friend... who's like my _sister. _You humiliated me and all of our friends know. There's nothing you can do to change that, and a quick tumble in the sheets isn't going to make up for it. Not this time."

Dan squeezed his eyes shut.

"There's something else. Something that if it wasn't for Nate, you would have _never_ known."

He opened his eyes, frowning. "And what is that?"

"I may be pregnant."

Dan blinked. He looked totally stunned for a few seconds.

Then his face broke out into the biggest grin.

"Oh, my God. Serena, that's... it's actually... that's _great! _I mean, it's a little soon, I just graduated from college today, but I'm actually done, your movie's coming out... we've got this pilot thing, I've got a novel outlined that's not about the Upper East Side..."

"It's about time," Serena said, sounding more like her best friend than herself.

He grabbed her hand. "If it's true, _this_ is the best graduation present you could have given me!"

Serena blinked. She'd been prepared to tell Dan that she'd been in denial over the possibility for weeks, and that she thought about termination. But...

"Really?"

"S, this is better than the Black Keys, both of my novels, your movie, my movie, the pilot, and all the best coffee houses in Brooklyn combined. I hope you're glad, too... my dad was the age I am now when I was born. I don't know about your mom, but I think my dad will be thrilled..."

"Dan, _why _would I be glad about this? I _told_ you I'm breaking up with you."

He fell silent. When he didn't say anything, Serena continued.

"I want to be _married_ to the father of my children. I want to be in _love _with him. But Dan, I'm not in love with you anymore."

Head shake. "That's strange. I seem to recall you telling me very distinctly that you loved me this morning, right before I left your place and headed to Lily's."

"I was a fool. Love is a two-way street. And you are _not _in love with me. I see that now... and _don't _you say anything, not after that display today, not with a bruised face and a swollen eyelid that _my _brother, who happens to be _her _husband, gave you." She poked his cheekbone for emphasis ("ow!"). "Dan, I really hope I'm not. But if I am..."

"If you are, I hope you'll let me know our child and be in their life, no matter what," Dan said slowly. "I'll do whatever it takes to be there for you and the baby."

"Dan, this baby can't be your Milo substitute! Even if our parents were in their early 20s when they had us, it was a different time back then. No one has kids this young anymore... and I _swear_ if you bring up Blair _or_ Chuck, I'm going to _kill _you. In fact, if you ever _say_ Blair's name to me ever again, I won't even issue a warning."

"Serena, I don't love..."

She _glared _at him.

"...her. I never did, I guess. Clearly, I didn't really know her. She showed me that today."

"Yeah. You thought you knew _me_, too, but that didn't stop you from screwing me over. So tell me, why should I carry a child who has half your DNA, Dan? Who'll _share _the same uncle on both of our sides? Why should I change my entire future to bring an innocent little baby into our messed-up lives?"

Dan was silent for several moments, staring off into space.

"Because, Serena, you and I _meant _something," he said finally. "I don't know what the future holds for us. All I know is that I've never loved a girl anywhere close to the way I loved you. So yeah, maybe I was disappointed when I learned that you weren't perfect. Maybe I built you up so much in my head from the first time I laid eyes on you, and maybe I couldn't believe that someone who looked like an angel could have such a wild side. I was young, and stupid, and I tried to forget you with Blair..."

"I _told _you,_ don't_...!"

"...with her. But it was never like it was with you. We didn't _fit. _It was different with you. Because at our very best, Serena, you and me? I think we did _fit_. Maybe you and I were never perfect, but I can't get you out of my system, and I think it's the same for you. And if we fit together so well, I'm sure any kid of ours would get the best of us... not the worst. And if you're okay with it... maybe they deserve a chance."

A strong, lean arm wound around her shoulders. Perhaps no longer beloved... but still warm and familiar.

She leaned her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.

"When we get back into the city," she said, "I'll buy a test and we'll go to the Brooklyn loft. Might as well find out right away. But Dan, I meant what I said. We're done as lovers, and it will take a long time before I can even trust you as my _friend _again. And we've still got a lot to talk about."

As he pressed a kiss to the top of her hair, Serena steeled herself. Whatever she decided to do about the kid, _if _there was a kid, her Dan Humphrey detox started _now._

"So let's start talking now," he said. "Are you tired?"

"No," she said. "Other than an intolerance for any and all seafood, I'm not tired, I haven't had morning sickness, and I don't have any other signs of being pregnant other than the fact I haven't had my cycle. Maybe it's just the excitement of the movie and planning this celebration for you guys. But we'll just have to see... tomorrow."

"Yeah... tomorrow." Kissing the top of her head again, Dan stood up from the bed and headed to his suitcase. "We need a distraction, since we won't know anything for sure until we get back to the city. So I suggest we ignore everything else that's going on for the moment and deal with the business at hand: writing this pilot."

Serena watched him grab his laptop. Her heart softened a little. There was just _something_ about Dan...

_No. _She'd been down that road far too many times! There would be no make-up sex, or any other kind of sex in their cabin tonight. Besides, now that she'd finally voiced her pregnancy fears, she wasn't in the mood.

"Dan, I think we should..."

"Two writers, talking about a project."

She raised an eyebrow. "That's all?"

"That's all."

"Okay," she said. "I'm still working on revising the treatment, but I can see the first scene in my head."

"Really," Dan said, over his shoulder. "What's the establishing shot?"

A smile tugged her lips upward.

"I thought about re-enacting the moment you said you first saw me when I came back from boarding school junior year. 'The mysterious Upper East Side girl is walking through Grand Central Station, then the camera pans on the boy from Brooklyn...'"

Dan sat down on the edge of the bed and opened his laptop. "Nah. That's too boring."

"But that's what actually happened."

"Yeah, and it's _boring_. We need something more exciting."

Serena came to sit next to him. "Like what? How about this... 'The It Girl walks up to Lonely Boy and slaps him,'" she demonstrated ("ow!"), "then says something like, 'I know you've been watching me, perv... erase those tapes or else!'"

Dan rubbed the place on his upper arm where she'd hit him. "That's more like something that Bla... _ow! _ Look, Serena, that's _three_ times you've hit me today..."

"Skinner, Dan," said Serena with narrowed eyes. "Maybe I didn't finish college, but I remember learning about operant conditioning in Psych 101 at Constance."

"But you said we're finished. If we are..."

"Yes, we are. Make no mistake about that. But that doesn't mean I want to hear anything about _Blair _from you, especially now that you've admitted you were only with her because you were disappointed with me."

Sea blue eyes locked with midnight brown. No further words were needed.

"I won't mention her again."

Serena broke her stare first with a shrug.

"Good choice. Your arm and face will thank you. Now, let's get this opening scene right."

_**Blair**_

She'd never admit it, but Blair really loved watching her husband sleep.

When he was awake, Chuck was so complicated, so complex. He could be commanding and intelligent, thoughtful and emotional, devilish and seductive. He could frighten, he could calm, he could inspire, and he could arouse dark desires... with just one look. Even when they were younger, Chuck had been like that, but few people got to know who the real Chuck Bass was.

Because asleep? He looked like a _cherub_. Not one of those fat winged babies on cheesy Valentine's Day greeting cards, but one of the _real _cherubim. Impossibly handsome, impossibly powerful even in repose...

...and these days, completely at peace.

Blair didn't like thinking about how _she _was the cause of him not being at peace, especially during the last tumultuous year before their marriage. Back then, she had thought herself justified in not wanting to be with him. If bailing on their trip to Tuscany and completely disregarding her in the wake of Bart's "death" wasn't enough, the hotel trade and sleeping with his stepsister on the very day he was going to propose had done it. And then to pretend as if it never happened, to disappear under an assumed name, to act as if some... some _French peasant... _meant more to him than _she _had?

Talk about humiliation and heartbreak. After everything they'd been through, for a time Blair believed Chuck couldn't have loved her. She convinced herself that he was incapable of loving anyone, and decided that she had to find the self she'd lost inside of him.

Yet the next two years had shown her just how in love with him she still was.

Blair's eyes ran over the familiar contours of her husband's face, arms, neck and chest. The sheet only covered him to the waist, and he lay flat on his back (which was unusual; they were both side sleepers, perfect for spooning). Chuck didn't snore unless he was wasted. He was a quiet sleeper, so much so that sometimes Blair would awake and listen for a few moments until she picked up the sound of his breath.

His face... there was something so magnetic and sensual about it, even in repose. Blair had seen pictures of his long-dead mother. Chuck was definitely the masculine version of her, all angles and lines and broad, dark strokes. When they were ten, Blair thought his face was rather odd-looking (although she never told him that... she _knew _what it was like to not be attractive enough); by fifteen, she considered him passable, but nowhere nearly as handsome as Nate.

By the time Blair was twenty, she found Chuck _breathtaking. _He was so finely sculpted until it wasn't even _real... _it was as if he'd grown into his stunning features. All of the Bass men were handsome as adults, but Evelyn's bloodlines had translated into something wonderful. Blair secretly hoped her children would have their father's exotic, slanting hazel eyes, his full, sensual lips, and his perfect bone structure, all inherited from the grandmother they'd never meet.

Even though his face was slightly "pretty," everything else about Chuck was more masculine than any other man she'd been with. He wasn't a bodybuilder, but he was well toned thanks to the yoga and pilates regimen he'd begun during her engagement to Louis. And after thinking that all boys should look like Nate Archibald during her teen years, Blair loved raking her fingers up and down his chest. She didn't mind the hair... in fact, she learned during the first heady days of their hookup that she rather _liked_ it and missed it during her dalliances with others... but she was amused by the fact that it wasn't just his chest, but his arms, his legs, and his...

"It's like I'm hooking up with a gorilla," she'd complained at eighteen, during their honeymoon phase right after high school graduation. (Which led to a decadent afternoon, evening, and _night _of playing Tarzan and Jane, which led to the immediate need to replace the bar, several light fixtures, and other aspects of Suite 1812... which meant Chuck had to move to the eighth floor during the renovations.)

She loved his arms well enough (especially being in them), but Blair was obsessed with his hands. Those hands had literally touched every single inch of her body... and _how... _but they'd also held hers countless times. _Chuck and Blair, holding hands..._

Her eyes returned to his chest to gaze at the scar that streaked down his abdomen to his hipbone like a bolt of lightning. As she looked at it, her engagement set, which she hadn't taken off yet for the night, seemed to burn into her finger. He'd held on to the ring _she _wore, and almost died as the result.

"_Are you sure you don't want a different one?" he'd asked her, two nights before their elopement. "Nate says it's cursed."_

"_Nate is an idiot," she'd replied, snuggling closer to him. "This ring is us, Chuck... blood and tears and fire... being lost and being found. It's the most beautiful ring I've ever seen! I love it so much, and I'm so proud to wear it."_

"_I'm glad. I love you, Blair."_

"_I love you, Chuck."_

She loved Chuck beyond reason. Theirs was indeed a great love, a crazy love... but it was also the right love. She'd wanted pure and simple, but what they had together was purely, simply _perfect. _

Blair didn't want to disturb him. After all, _she_ was the one incubating their child... just because she couldn't sleep some nights didn't mean he should be subjected to the same fate. Yet her fingertips had a will of their own. For the hundredth time, they traced his scar... very gently...

Usually when she did this, Chuck would either keep his eyes closed, and start making requests for where he wanted her to move her "talented fingers" next... or open them, and burn her with their fire. Tonight was different. He awoke with a start, furrowing his brow...

"B...?" he mumbled, sitting up slightly and rubbing his eyes. "Everything all right? How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine... and so is the baby," said Blair. "I'm just up thinking."

Chuck let out a deep breath, then lowered himself back onto the pillow. Blair loved it when they were face to face like this. When it was just them, they were the only two people in the world.

"I'd say 'penny for your thoughts' if you weren't always insulted when I say it."

"Exactly, Bass. My thoughts are priceless." She smiled, then sobered up. "I've been thinking about our talk in the kitchen, and everything with Serena... and Dan. Chuck, I think I need to wake Serena up and talk to her."

"No, you don't," he said firmly. "Don't start this now, Waldorf."

She blinked. "Been a long time since you called me that."

"Well, it's been a long time since you needed to hear it. Blair, you and Serena will be fine. It's going to take some time before things are like they used to be between the two of you."

"Why can't you intervene? It worked four years ago..."

"That was four years ago." Sigh. "Why can't you just be patient?"

"Patience is not my strong suit, Chuck. You've known that since we were five."

"Indeed." He pulled her flush to him, and closed his eyes. He was wearing silk pajama bottoms, and she had on a silk nightie. (Blair loved the decadent feel of the silk, but preferred the feel of _him _far more.) They fit together perfectly, almost as if some sculptor had created them within the same mold, and smiled at the secret as they grew up together, side by side, never suspecting what was in store.

"Mmm... distracting me, are you?" she said against his ear.

"Mmm... is it working?"

"Maybe," she said. "But Chuck..."

"Hm?"

"Where's my graduation gift?"

Chuck's eyes flew open. "_Fuck. _I can't believe I haven't given it to you yet!"

Blair giggled. "Yes, as much as I adore my Mother's Day locket, I knew that Nate didn't get a yacht while I just got something with sentimental value. So what is it?"

Her husband slanted a grin at her. "You're going to _love _it. Wait, I'll get it. It's in my luggage..."

"It's not like you to forget something so important," she fussed.

"Well, it's not like I haven't had a _red-hot, sexy _little vixen distracting me all day." Chuck kissed her, then slid out of bed.

Blair sat up, both hands planted on either side of her hips on the mattress, trying not to seem _too _excited. She'd always thought her father gave her the best surprises ever, but ever since her seventeenth birthday, her Chuck never failed to knock it out of the ballpark when it came to giving her gifts. Blair knew that it gave him so much pleasure to see the look on her face each time... he loved treating her and their small circle of friends and family (as Serena exclaimed once, "Chuck gives the best stuff!"). Their kids would be so lucky to have him as their father, and she'd make sure they knew it.

He returned to bed with a small, unlabeled jewelry box and a leather portfolio. Instead of plopping them in her lap, then snatching her up to sit on his (one of their little games was for Blair to slowly unwrap a gift as Chuck hardened beneath her, knowing he'd get _no_ reward until she saw what the present was), he sat beside her, just staring at her.

Blair smiled at him, almost shyly. Every time he did this, for a moment, she felt seventeen again.

"Which should I open first?"

"The box, please."

Blair did. Inside it was an old-fashioned key. She examined it...

"Wow, Bass, so this is your year for antiques! The locket, and now a key. Since this doesn't look like any kind of key I've ever seen, I suppose this doesn't mean Bass Industries has acquired any new real estate. So what is this?"

Chuck smirked. "What do you think it is?"

"Hmm. Maybe it's to an old-fashioned jewelry box... perhaps even a chest?"

He shook his head. "Normally, beautiful, I enjoy our guessing games, but it's been a long day. Perhaps you should end this mystery."

In response, her nose and lips nuzzled the side of his face. "Perhaps I should... _mmm, _you smell _great..."_

"Open it, woman," he growled. Blair slanted a glance down at his lap as she took the portfolio away. _Oh, he's so easy, _she thought. _But not to worry, I'll take care of _that_ in a minute._

"Gladly," said Blair. She opened the portfolio and drew out a portrait sized photograph of...

"Chuck! This is the home we found in Lyon last summer on the other side of Daddy and Roman's vineyard!" Her fingers traced the snapshot of the understated yet elegant eighteenth century French country manor. "You told me that it was impossible to purchase... that the man who inherited it said he'd never sell because it had been in his family since the time of Napoleon. You said you'd build me another just like it someday... _is _this a replica?"

"You know it isn't. This is the house."

"But Chuck! How did you convince Monsieur..."

"Ultimately, everything has a price," he replied. "I learned that Monsieur Fortier wants to retire to Nice. He's a sixty year old bachelor with no living relations. We've made that possible for him."

"And here I thought he was going to donate the place to the government as a historic site... oh, those French and their socialist ideas," said Blair, wrinkling her nose.

Chuck cracked a grin.

"Bass, what did you tell him?"

"The truth. That your parents were expatriates, that your mother lives in Paris, your father is his neighbor, and we wanted them and their partners to know their grandchildren. That you and I both love France, speak the language, enjoy the culture, and want our children to do the same. That his family's historic home would be restored to its full glory, cared for impeccably, and filled with love and laughter for generations to come."

He kissed her forehead.

"We'll spend the first part of the summer in the Hamptons, then fly over to France in July to spend some time with your parents. I'm thinking this will be our home for the holidays, Blair... that our children will spend their summers and Christmases here growing up, just as we spent them in the Hamptons and around the city." He took the portfolio out of her hands and looked at her expectantly. "So how did I do?"

She pushed him back on the bed, straddling his thighs shamelessly.

"I could show you better than I could tell you."

"Actions, _ma __chérie_, speak louder than words."

Within seconds, Blair had tugged his pajama bottoms around his knees, now able to reach for what she wanted, stroking once... twice... and again. Using her other hand to cup another part of him that loved her attention, she leaned down...

She smiled with anticipation, using the tip of her tongue to trace a slow, languorous line along the underside of him, before taking the head ever so slightly into her hot mouth.

"_Fuck!" _he swore. Inwardly triumphant, she swirled her tongue around the head, before releasing him gently.

"Just relax," she cooed. "You've been _so _attentive, you've given me the college graduation celebration of my dreams," Blair kissed one hipbone, then the other, "and you've been so _good_ to me. Now I want to... " Her teeth nipped at the indentation of his belly button, "_pay thorough attention_ to you."

Blair nuzzled his tip, once, then twice. Then she returned to her earlier task, but this time, taking him deeper... _humming..._

Chuck's grip on her hair was rough, almost pulling. Then suddenly, he pulled her off, and up.

"No," he said, voice strangled. "All day... you've been... tired. You... don't need to..."

She shut him up by going for it a third time, hand wrapped around the base of him, determined to drive him up the wall. Hadn't he been paying attention at their OB/GYN visits? The only thing the doctor said was forbidden wasn't this_... _and _that one thing _wasn't part of their vast and varied repertoire, anyway.

Soon, he lost control. With a roar and a string of curses, he was finished.

But Blair wasn't. She kissed her way back up, very slowly, lingering, her lips, teeth and tongue paying homage to all his spots as her silk-covered body slid sensuously over him. With her foot, she slid his pajama bottoms off (silk was so _useful, _such a _cooperative, decadent _fabric_...). _Her mouth found his neck as his arms tightened around her, hands smoothing over her purple silk-clad back...

"Insatiable minx," he muttered, trying to recover from what she'd just done. "We were at it all day and half the night, and still, you're up for more. So tell me, Mrs. Bass, _what _will satisfy you tonight?"

She grinned at him wickedly.

"Surprise me."

"Gladly," he husked. "I don't think you'll be needing this anymore..."

And without further ado, he ripped the silk slip from her body. The sound of fabric tearing never failed to make Blair soaking wet. So many of her night things got ruined during their loveplay, but he always bought her new ones... and she _loved_ to shop for him.

After all, finding new ways to ruin lingerie and loungewear was one of their specialties.

With her still on top, nothing between them, they kissed as if they hadn't spent the day sneaking around behind everyone's (well, almost everyone – _damn_ Nate, and _damn_ Serena too) backs. Chuck then spent some quality time with his wife's neck, murmuring little endearments on her skin, laving the slowly fading spot he'd left earlier as if his mouth could heal the love mark it had made. As he did so, his masterful (_oh, so very masterful) _fingers found their way to her core, teasing, prodding, running up and down her folds... before plunging all in.

Blair cried out in pleasure, rocking against his hand, seeing stars. A small voice in the back of her mind admonished _her _and _them _for being fucking ridiculous when it came to _this. _ _How many times can two people have sex in one 24 hour period? This is too much! _But the rest of her (body, heart, soul, _mind_) was ever grateful for her equally insatiable partner.

"On your knees, wench," he rasped suddenly, withdrawing his fingers from her, then slapping her butt. The average woman would have been affronted, but Blair was in no way average.

She laughed.

"I see somebody's suddenly changed his tune," Blair teased him. "Ready for another round?"

"Not me, _you." _He was temptation incarnate. "_Up."_

And that's how Blair found herself less than a minute later, flat-palmed against the headboard, head thrown back, biting her lips as her entire body shook with pleasure...

...while Chuck, hands grasping her thighs, ran his tongue up and down her center as if he had the next _fifty fucking years _to do this... again! It didn't take long before she began purring the way he so loved_._

"That's it, kitten," he murmured, as his skillful, gorgeous hands slid up her body to cup her breasts.

Blair _knew_ she had to be quiet. They weren't home, and they'd already been caught once. But damn him, he just _knew _how she liked it, just _how _to make her...

It wasn't long before she lost it. She rode out her climax, calling out his name, not caring who heard, not caring about anything except _him, her _and the moment_._

Blair felt absolutely boneless. She was about to collapse back on the bed, but Chuck was already behind her. Chuckling into her ear, he cradled her abdomen gently with one hand, using the other to lift her hips slightly, positioning her, before thrusting deeply into her warmth.

"No, no... too _soon, Bass!_" she protested hoarsely. "Too... damn... _soon!"_

"Never," he growled against her nape, words keeping time with his motions. "Never... enough... so... finish... thanking... _me!"_

And this time, when she came, he was right there with her.

Moments later, Blair was still shaking and gripping the headboard. Chuck nestled into her, moving her hair aside to kiss her temple.

"Yes," he said, "I believe _that_ was a proper thank you."

"Bass, we were _ridiculous _today," Blair panted. "That was... how many times was that in one twenty-four hour period?"

Chuck smirked. (She could feel his lips in the telltale position as they rested against the back of her neck.) "Well, Blair, you _do _only graduate from college once, right?"

"Right. But you know... there's still _law school," _she said. "_And_ the New York bar, _and _the federal bar, _and..."_

They collapsed into each other's arms. Both finally sated...

At least, for now.

_**Jenny**_

She wasn't sure what to do at first. Jenny had promised herself that she was going to avoid Nate and stay in her cabin. But Serena had told her to stay, right?

_Keep telling yourself that, Jenny. You know you want to, _the voice in her head cajoled.

Wanted to... do what? For the past ten minutes, she'd been reclining on the chaise lounge that Serena had vacated, alternating between staring at Nate sleeping (although his face was almost completely obscured by the captain's hat; how did he breathe?) and thinking about a summer look inspired by the stars in the sky.

_Most designers use pastels, bold colors, or shades of white for summer. But what about the _darkness_ of this season? A perfect, starry night like this one? _

_I'd make a dress with layers of sheer silk in a deep, rich shade of dark blue... translucent, almost transparent... revealing the tone of the skin without being too risqué... with a clingy, sexy drape, almost Grecian. _(She had finally made it to the British Museum and was now secretly wild about all things classical.)

_And for the stars? Rhinestones would be too heavy; glitter or sequins, too tacky..._

_Embroidery, of course. Done by hand. Liquid silver thread. All over the dress... with an incredible belt just underneath the bustline. _

"And I'll call it 'A Midsummer's Night Dream,'" she said to herself, quietly. In her imagination, she began to envision accessories, shoes, perhaps even other, similar frocks inspired by hot nights.

Next to her, Nate stirred. Jenny blinked, shaken from her reverie, feeling a little nervous as she watched him remove the hat and rub his eyes.

"What time is it?" he asked.

"Almost three in the morning," she said. "Eight o'clock my time."

Nate cocked his head awkwardly from side to side, almost as if trying to work a crook out of his neck. And Jenny was totally unprepared for the megawatt grin he sent her way once he got his bearings.

"You found me."

"Actually, my brother found me. He wanted me to help him find Serena, who was up here with you. She wanted me to stay, let you know that she went to talk to Dan." Jenny swallowed, but her mouth was oddly dry. "Hey, I know we talked about doing that wheelhouse tour. It's quiet... maybe this will be a good time for you to teach me how to..."

"In a while," said Nate, stretching as he stood. "Want a drink?"

She shrugged. "Yeah, sure. Why not?"

So they raided the top deck's bar. Nate surprised Jenny with his bartending skills ("You can't be the best friend of Chuck Bass, functional alcoholic, without picking up a few things over the years," he declared proudly), and soon a gin martini was pressed into her hands. Jenny really hadn't had anything more than pints of beer from various London pubs for a couple of years, but she figured one martini wouldn't hurt... and might settle her nerves.

Nate knocked back a shot of cognac, as she sipped, then poured a little more into his glass. (Jenny, for her part, was trying not to twist on the barstool.)

"So, how are you liking your new boat?" she asked him.

"I'm loving it," said Nate. Glancing at her, he went to the railing, leaned over and yelled, "I'm the King of the World!"

"Corny," Jenny said. "If you're going for clichéd _Titanic_ refs, Nate, at least do it right."

And, feeling buoyed by the martini, she demonstrated.

This led to quite a contest. They moved from _Titanic _to _The Pirates of the Caribbean _to _Waterworld _("Actually, I thought it wasn't that bad," was Nate's opinion) to _Into the Blue _("Everybody thought this one was cheesy," said Jenny, "but I _so _wanted to be Jessica Alba!"). At one point, Jenny almost flipped over the railing, a second martini having gone to her head, but Nate grabbed her by the waist in the nick of time.

Once every single sea movie they could think of was exhausted, Nate fixed Jenny a third martini, poured another shot, and they settled back on the chaise lounges near the hot tub.

"Too bad you're going back to London," said Nate. "You've seen everything! I didn't know anybody else who loved the same cheesy movies as me!"

"Well, I didn't realize I knew so many movies featuring boats," Jenny said, feeling euphoric, knowing that she was a total lightweight and would hate herself in a few hours. (Who drank three gin martinis in a row at nine o'clock in the morning?) "Guess the double features during Humphrey chili-and-board games nights weren't exactly highbrow art films, huh?"

"Jen, I..." Nate wasn't looking at her. He was looking down at the captain's hat, slightly crushed, in his hands. "Why can't you stay here in New York a few more days? Is there a class you've got to get back to or something?"

"No, but my flat's rented for the entire year. I'd rather stay there than with my mom in Hudson. I'll be taking an intensive course starting in mid-July. I thought I might get some of my own designs done before then."

"I'll have to look you up. I'll be in London this summer. Maybe we could hang out sometime."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I was supposed to go last year for the Jubilee and the Olympics and all that, but got tied up in New York. There's this royal reception my great-aunt wants all of us to accompany her to... and since I missed last year..."

Jenny laughed. "That's right, you're like 537th in line to the throne, right? Or something like that?"

Nate rolled his eyes. "Jen, that's not what I care about. When I'm over there, I spend most of my time hanging out with friends on the South Bank, knocking back a few pints, maybe even catching a Chelsea game." He looked at her with a half smile. "You know, I'd really like to spend some more time with you before you leave..."

"You just broke up with Vanessa less than ten hours ago." Her tone was flat.

"Just hanging out! That's all."

Jenny glared in disbelief.

"Okay. So I've been thinking about you all day."

Jenny couldn't look at him. "Nate, I'm not an idiot. How many girls have you been with since I left, huh? I can't even keep track of them. You were with _Vanessa _the night after you broke up with _Lola. _Before Lola, there was _Serena. _Before Serena, there was _Lola _again_... _before Lola, some old English lady who was Bart Bass' mistress while he was in hiding or something, then before _her..."_

"I get your point."

"Then get mine. Nathaniel Archibald, I don't take anything you say seriously. I'm not a teenager with a crush on you anymore."

"But you want me."

Sigh. "Any woman with blood in her veins would want you. But that's not the point."

"Yes, it is. You want me... and Jenny, I _definitely_ want you. So why not see where this goes?"

Jenny knew, deep down, that she shouldn't stay there. The gin and vermouth were streaming through her veins, he was looking at her like... Jenny didn't even _know _what like... and, well, she just needed to get out of there before she...

She stood up quickly.

"Good night, Nate."

"Jenny, _wait_."

Nate leapt from the chaise. Before Jenny knew it, she was in his arms... and they were _kissing_. He was kissing her as if his life depended upon it. Oh, God, he felt great, hands pressed into her lower back and small butt, almost as if he were molding her to his body. She felt his hands, tangling in her hair, undoing the loose little knot she'd formed at her nape before dozing off, hairpins flying _everywhere._

He'd never kissed her like this before. His tongue had pushed past her lips, exploring, tasting, making _love _to her with just his mouth. Jenny had never experienced anything like this before, couldn't in her wildest dreams have imagined _anything_ could feel like this...

"Come back to my cabin with me," he said, breathless, between kisses.

"I... I _can't," _Jenny said. "This... this _thing_ between us..."

Nate's fingers came up to trace her lips. She was caught up in his eyes.

"I know you feel it too... what's between us." He kissed her lips again, softly. "What's always been there."

"Nate, _stop_, " she breathed.

"Why?"

"You can't just go around having sex with every girl you know! That's not how it works!"

"Yeah, well, maybe I went around having sex with every girl I knew," he said, grasping her hands and twining their fingers together, "because _you_ weren't ready to be with me yet."

"_Please_," Jenny said, trying to loosen his grip. "You never saw me like that, never wanted to be with me! You put Dan, Vanessa, Serena, _anyone else _before me..."

"You weren't ready," he repeated. "And maybe... neither was I. I've always known you were special, Jenny. But you were younger than me... and there was so much I had to settle first. Serena I'd known _forever_ and the whole situation with her was crazy. Vanessa was there for me when my dad was in trouble, and so was Dan..."

"I could have been there for you too, Nate," Jenny said, wondering when her voice had gone so soft. "I spent my entire time at Constance wanting you, wishing that you'd just..."

She swallowed the lump in her throat, tears forming in her eyes. _Big girls don't cry, Jenny Humphrey, _she told herself. _You're a grown-up now. Woman up._

"That I'd just what, Jen?"

She couldn't answer him_. _Not entangled in his arms, his hands tracing patterns on her back and backside, looking at her with something in his eyes that she'd _never _seen from him... not when he was with Blair _or _Vanessa _or _Serena...

...but maybe he had looked at them like this when he was trying to get into their pants? Oh, she was so confused.

"Never mind," she breathed. "Nate, let's just... tonight's been great, talking with you, spending time with you, the flirting, the kisses. Reminds me of old times. Let's just leave it at that, okay? We should both go get some sleep."

"I don't want to leave it at that. I'm done pining after Serena, and I'm done letting Vanessa judge me for who and what I am. I am _done_. But you..." He pulled her closer, lips pressing against her temple, flicking his tongue against her skin as he leaned forward a few inches. "We're just getting started_."_

"I don't do one-night stands, Nate," she said firmly. _Even though every cell in my body very much wants to make an exception in this case, _she thought but did not say.

"Who said anything about a one-night stand? That's not what I'm into, either."

"Let me make myself clear, then," said Jenny. "I've never done friends with benefits, and I don't want to start now. Only my boyfriend gets to have sex with me."

"Whoa," he said. "That's a lot of pressure on a guy. But how would you know you'd want him as a boyfriend, then? Don't you ever take a guy out for a test drive? Most girls I know do that..."

"I... can we not talk about this?"

She tried to move away from him, but he was still holding her fast. Nate gently tipped up her chin and looked into her eyes.

"What's going on, Jen?" he asked, searching her face.

She blushed deeply, looking down at his exposed chest. "Look, Nate. I know what you must think of me, especially after the way I left New York. But I just don't _do_ hookups. I've... been out of practice."

"Is that all?" He laughed indulgently, then tilted her chin up again. This time, she was mesmerized by the look into his burning, bottomless blue eyes. "I'd be more than glad to get you up to speed. In fact, I'd be _thrilled_..."

"_No," _Jenny said, finally managing to free herself from his arms. She sprang back, but was dizzy (dear God, what _had _he done to her?) so plopped down on the chaise.

"Okay," sighed Nate. "Jen, look, I'm sorry. I thought... I guess I just misunderstood you. I want you, and I thought you wanted me too. If you're not into this, I won't bother you again."

He turned and started to walk towards the stairs leading down to the main deck...

"Nate, wait."

_Great, _thought Jenny. _My body and my heart are holding my mouth hostage... why not just let him go?_

_Because if you do, you'll always wonder. And you don't want any more "what ifs," right?_

He turned around. "Yeah?"

"I have something to tell you. About me. Something that no one else knows."

That got him to return. He sat down right next to her, taking her hands in his.

"What is it?"

"I..." She couldn't help the tears that started falling from her eyes. "I'm more than out of practice, Nate. I haven't been with anyone since that night with Chuck."

Nate's jaw dropped. "What? But wasn't that your first..."

"You've got it."

"That doesn't make sense..." He was frowning. "Jenny, did Chuck hurt you? I mean, I never wanted details about what happened, but..."

"No, he didn't hurt me, and he didn't force me, either. We were both very drunk, very depressed, and hurting over what was going on in our lives. What happened was consensual, but... it meant nothing to either of us." Her voice was harsh as she forced out the words. "We're going to be okay, Chuck and I. Before it all happened, he was starting to be sort of... an older brother. And I know if we could take that night back, we both would."

"I never knew you felt that way about it."

"Damien had rejected me, and _you_ did too. You made it clear that Serena had your heart. So I guess I didn't care who I slept with anyway... I didn't want it to be Chuck, but he was there, and no one else gave a shit. So I started drinking and things happened." She shrugged. "I didn't enjoy it at all. Ever since then, I haven't enjoyed guys touching me beyond kissing. I thought... for a while, I thought maybe I was a lesbian, but I'm not attracted to girls or women. Only guys."

"Wow," said Nate again. "God, Jenny, I'm sorry it happened that way. If I'd known..."

"I'm glad you didn't know. I'm glad I left New York. Hudson was beautiful and peaceful. London is one of my favorite cities in the world. My life is so much better than if I'd continued my quest to be an Upper East Side princess."

"But your life is... missing something," he pointed out.

"I don't need _that_."

"Yes, you do." Nate brought their intertwined hands to his lips so that he could kiss the backs of hers. Then he coaxed her to recline on the chaise again, to relax, even as he remained seated on its edge. "You're a designer, an artist. I've dated a few. All of you seem to need that."

"Well, I'm different. I was designing showstoppers as a child working for Eleanor Waldorf."

"And if you were doing that at 15, imagine what you could do at 25, working on your own. You could be the most sought after designer in the world."

"I _will_ be the most sought after designer in the world by the time I'm 25," Jenny swore. "But I don't need to be some nympho in order to accomplish that..."

"Sounds like you've been thinking a lot about it lately, Jenny," he said, lowering his voice. "Tell me more."

Shrug. "Well, every girl has her fantasies."

"What kind of fantasies?"

Jenny blushed, but felt annoyed. Why did he care so much?

"Why should I tell you anything, Nate? They're called fantasies for a reason... and that reason is because they're _private."_

He cracked a teasing grin. "Sure, they are."

"What do you mean?" she frowned. "There's no way you could know."

"Oh, I know exactly who girls like you are dreaming of, thinking of... so which one is it for you? Some actor like Robert Pattinson or Liam Hemsworth? Or that Ian guy Serena got for her movie?"

"No."

"Some designer you've met over in Europe?"

"How many straight male designers are there? Especially under 30?"

"Some athlete? Vanessa was _crazy _about Rafael Nadal..."

"_Nate."_

His hand came to rest on her knee.

"I won't stop until you tell me who it is."

"Stop trying to guess," she chided. "I'm not telling."

"Then we'll stay here all night," he told her. "I can wait."

And at his words, Jenny closed her eyes. She was suddenly reminded of another night, five, almost six years ago, when this man had sat down in a seedy photographer's apartment, waiting for her to come to her senses and see her model friend for the opportunist that she was.

She remembered her fifteen-year-old self railing at him angrily, frustrated because he was treating her just like Dan would... when she didn't _want _Nate Archibald to look at her as if she was just his friend's kid sister...

And then, he had kissed her. _Really _kissed her for the first time.

Shaken by the memory of that kiss, Jenny's eyes flew open. She would end this... this _thing_ that began way back then once and for all. Maybe once she told him, he'd be startled enough to let her be.

Jenny turned and looked at him.

"Nate," she said quietly, trying to keep her voice steady. "It's you."

"Me?" He looked momentarily confused. "I thought we were talking about celebrities..."

"You asked me about my fantasies, my dreams. Well... I dream about _you."_

"Me," he repeated. But this time, the confusion had disappeared. His fingers traced her arm, and Jenny felt the burn through the thin fabric of her nightshirt as he leaned closer. "And what do you do when you have these dreams about _me_?"

"I..." Her face was suddenly hot. She couldn't tell him, but her mouth was still moving. "I-I touch..."

"You touch...?" he prompted. A damnably sensuous hand came up to cup her face as she whispered it.

"Myself."

"You touch _yourself? _While you're thinking about me?" Jenny felt burned to a crisp by the look in his eyes. "Shit, that's _hot."_

"No, it's not!" Her cheeks grew hot, and she pressed her eyes shut, wanting to disappear. "I can't believe what I just said! This is so embarrassing!"

"Don't be embarrassed... _shit, _Jenny! That's so... it makes me..." Nate's voice broke. "Would you show me?"

"_What?"_ Her eyes flew back open.

"Show me how you touch yourself."

She shook her head wildly, sending nape-length blond hair flying everywhere. "No! I'm not going to do that! I can't do _that _in front of you!"

"You can." He leaned over to hover over her. "You _want_ to."

"_Nate."_

"What's the difference? Instead of dreaming about me, I'm right here. And," Jenny saw him swallow, and she lowered her eyelashes, "So are you."

Her hands, as if they had a will of their own, undid the top button of her nightshirt. _How drunk am I? I can't believe I'm actually considering this! _He was right about one thing, it was too damn hot, and if she didn't get some air, she would faint.

"That's it," he grated out. "Just like that."

Jenny's heart was beating triple time as she fumbled with the next button, then stopped.

"Damn it, Nate, I'm _scared."_

"Don't be. I won't touch you... not unless you want me to." He released her left hand, just gazing at her. "But I... I want to see you, Jen... I _need _to see you... please, _look_ at me."

_I can't believe Nate Archibald wants a strip tease!_

_Oh, Little J, he wants more than that. Much more. Why not make it worth his while?_

_Yes, Jenny, you really _are _drunk as hell..._

_Well, tomorrow, I'll just blame it on the alcohol. Nothing ventured, nothing gained... right?_

She slowly unbuttoned the nightshirt, never breaking his gaze. Then with her right hand, she started at the hollow of her throat, tracing down... finding her own breast underneath the fabric... cupping it...

Nate reached out to push back both halves of the nightshirt. His eyes darkened at the sight of her.

"Hey, I thought you said you weren't going to touch me," Jenny said, voice trembling.

"I said I wouldn't touch _you. _Didn't make any promises about that shirt... _damn_, you're _perfect..._ _they're _perfect. Touch them for me."

_Perfect? _Jenny didn't think so. Nevertheless, with his eyes on her chest, gooseflesh rose, and the tips of her breasts pebbled in the humid air. Her nimble fingers started tracing circles (_like tracing the bust of a dress pattern?) _around them, then came up to tweak and pinch their pink tips. Her lips parted as the first frisson of arousal hit her deep below...

Nate swore. "Oh, _God," _he choked out. Jenny heard the distinct sound of a zipper, heard the fumbling, and knew what he was now doing. But instead of feeling shame, she felt the urge to encourage it! No matter how she felt about her own charms, Nate couldn't hide his response to her. That made Jenny feel strangely _triumphant, _instead of used...

This was _hot._

Beneath the boxer shorts she was wearing, she was wet. Jenny shrugged off the nightshirt, hooked her fingers into the waistband of her shorts, and then pushed them down so that the only garment she still wore were a pair of black cotton briefs...

...with a _very _soaked crotch.

Nate inhaled sharply as he looked over his shoulder. His eyes darted from her face, to her breasts and flat stomach, to her panties as she slipped one hand below the waistband and with her slim fingers, started toying with her folds. (Whenever she did this, Jenny never could directly touch her center; it was always too sensitive and she didn't last for long.)

"Jen... I gotta _see _you," he said, hands still not visible.

Jenny blinked. "I..." she licked lips suddenly gone dry, "...thought this was okay."

"Take them off for me."

"Huh?"

"I want to see everything... _everything_."

His request came out as almost a groan. The tips of Jenny's breasts tightened even more, and more wetness pooled between her thighs as she slid off her panties. She was naked for the first time in her life, bared for the eyes of a man. The fact that the man was Nate Archibald completely blew her mind. Momentarily stunned, she felt at a loss...

"Keep going."

"I-"

"Jenny, _please_."

And somehow, she did. While her left hand slowly alternated between each breast, her right spread open her folds, running four fingers back and forth. Then she plunged a single finger inside. In spite of herself, a single whispered word flew from her lips...

"_Nate."_

The next thing she knew, her fingers were joined by his. He pulled her digit away from her center, then brought it to his lips, licking it, then sucking it...

As she watched him enjoying her taste, feeling the heat of his mouth around her pointer, caught up in his gaze, Jenny was coming undone. As her hips bucked into the humid night air, she cried out:

"Oh _God... Nate!"_

But now her fingers had been replaced with _Nate's. _And his fingers played with her, a thousand times more expert than her own, almost as if she was his guitar (_wait, did Nate even _play_?)_ and he was a rock star. Jenny bit her lips to keep from crying out, but at the first tiny, tickling flick of his tongue at her center, she let out a hoarse, strangled moan.

Two fingers pushed inside of her, even as he continued his slow, languorous licks. And when he found a spot inside of Jenny that she never even knew _existed... _a spot that made her _levitate _off the chaise...

"_Please, please, please!" _she cried out. It was all too much... too much sensation... she was losing her _mind_... he was shattering her into pieces, and she knew she'd never be able to put herself back together again...

But she exploded anyway. Jenny convulsed over and over again, around his fingers, into his mouth, chanting his name as if it were a sacred prayer. What she'd most feared when she'd first seen him again the morning before had _happened... _was _happening_... and _how._

She thought she'd get a reprieve when he moved away, but instead, he quickly stripped naked. Her unfocused, lust-filled eyes took in every inch of him.

_He's perfect... but I'm..._

"Shit, you're _perfect," _he murmured. "I want you...I want to do _everything_ with you... you're _so_ fucking... please, Jenny... _please..._"

As if he needed to ask for permission. There was nothing she wanted more than to feel him slide into her... he looked like one of the Greek statues she'd seen at the London museum, only _far_ more generously endowed.

"Nate, I want you, too," she whispered huskily, heating up quickly again.

He needed no further invitation. He lifted her up and within a few seconds, had traded places with her so that he was laying back on the chaise and she was straddling him. He'd already put on a condom...

"Don't be scared," he said. "I won't hurt you... but I need to... need... _God, _if you only knew how much I..."

The strain was evident on his face, in his tone. Jenny reached for him, positioned him...

And as she eased down on his hard length, Nate sat up, swearing, groaning, eyes fluttering closed as he gasped for breath. Jenny began to tremble, clutching his back, fingers pressing into his spine... she'd _never _felt anything close to _this... him_... _oh, my... _was this why everyone was so obsessed with it?

Her thoughts grew fuzzy, then blurred with pleasure as Nate began to move. Hooking his hands under her hips, fingers pressed into the soft globes, he lifted her up and down on him, setting the pace. It didn't take long before she was starting to come again... he took her scream into himself as he kissed her... his thrusts became more erratic as he bellowed into her ear... and then... at last...

They were still.

Jenny knew that what had just transpired between them had changed her forever. He'd brought out a side of her that she didn't even know existed... and the very last person she wanted to process that with was Nate Archibald. She needed to be alone in order to _think_.

She tried to let him go, to move away, but Nate held her tightly.

"I should probably..."

"You're not going anywhere," he said, kissing the rest of that sentence right out her mouth. "Not tonight. I haven't gotten enough of you yet, Jenny... not _nearly _enough."

Jenny's heart soared. Her mind tamped it down.

She was _frightened_. Her heart was far too fragile and inexperienced for this kind of sensation... this kind of _emotion. _What the hell had she gotten herself into?

And what kind of slut must he think she was? He'd had a girlfriend not twelve hours ago...

"We're on the top deck, Nate," she whispered. "Out in the open. Someone could see us."

She trailed off, realizing how ridiculous she sounded. _Because you're nearly an hour too late for that, Miss Humphrey, aren't you?_

"No one's going to see. Boat's in the middle of nowhere. Most of the crew is asleep, and the ones who aren't will be in the wheelhouse all night. Eric and Alec are in bed, Chuck and Blair won't leave their cabin again, and Dan and Serena are going to be talking for a while."

"Yeah, but still. We should go to my cabin or yours, finish talking..."

Nate's hands came up to cup her face. He kissed her deeply.

"We'll talk in the morning. In the meantime... I think we've found something _much _more interesting to do."

When his mouth covered hers, she didn't protest again. But Jenny Humphrey knew she was in trouble. Trouble that she hadn't been in for many years. Trouble she'd have to figure a way out of...

In the morning.

_**~to be continued~**_

**A/N: **So this chapter was inspired by two songs (again). The first I found on one of Crindy With Club Sauce's excellent Chair videos, "Give Me a Reason to Love You." The music in it, Portishead's "Glory Box," is perfect for the moment that you're going to give your heart away, and we've seen that with several of our couples. It also reminds me of Chair, Serenate angst, and Nenny, so I looped it as I wrote the beginning of the chapter.

Another song that crept into the story while I was writing is Sergio Mendes' jazz standard "So Many Stars." I thought that it might be a typical selection for an elegant summer party in the Hamptons that their parents' generation would throw... and the sound of the live band would filter out to the beach. It perfectly captures where Serena is right now.

The final song (ironically enough) is the Pretty Reckless' "You." This definitely helped me write through my Derena and Nenny scenes... especially the Nate and Jenny one. (Taylor's performance the music video for the song helped me try to capture some of the emotions running rampant there. Just... ignore the eye makeup! Still, she's a very talented young lady.)

Chuck's line to Blair: "It's not about Dan; it's about you dating Dan" is from DaeDreemer's excellent one-shot "Wayside," only the name has changed. Read it if you haven't... you'll find it on my Favorite Stories Page.

I've loved writing this fic because it's allowed me to explore young relationships from different angles. Chair, of course, is epic and forever love, but how many of us get that when we're 18 or 21? They're the center and the beating heart of this story but theirs isn't the only story. There's also the very slow build of Serenate (I recently read DaeDreemer's "Imaginary Friends," and _love _that endgame... I can totally see them getting together, but later), the volatile end of Envy (I like V, but her flings with Nate always drew out her worst sides on the show), possibly a budding new beginning for Nenny (one of my AU crackships, obviously), and the angst of Derena. I love all kinds of love, and think that there are many kinds of love stories that can be told.

Two more chapters: you'll want to see who Vanessa calls, what Serena's test results are, and what Bart had to tell Blair. I promise, I _will _get Eric back into the narration - next chapter will open with him! There are still a couple of canon characters who will be back as well.

Drinks on the Empire rooftop for the world's best betas, **K **and **DrGG. **I have to also thank my Chair ship fairy godmother **Maryl**, who kept yelling at me to get off Twitter and write... perhaps a beautiful atomizer filled with B's signature Chanel scent would be most appropriate. And while I'm at it, a jaunt to the duck pond in Central Park with Monkey Bass for all of my Chapter 5 reviewers as of the time of this posting: **a.n.n.e.s.t, , scarletblessed, Added **(whose reviews I want to marry & have babies with), **DrGG**, **Amanda, Maryl, cj, LowerCase32, MiiMi, QueenMabGG, laperkin, TriGemini, 24hrscout, SaNaa.91, VeraDeDiamant, ChrysX, BikerChick101, pty, Meg, bfan, Krazy4Spike, **and **Trosev.**

Only two more chapters left! The timeline speeds up, because each covers one full day. Until next time, as our favorite anonymous blogger would put it, _**you're the one that I want **__-_ thanks for reading!

**XOXO, **Dr. Holland


	7. Tomorrow

**POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE**

**Summary:** One year after the events of Season 5, it's college graduation day for Nate Archibald, Dan Humphrey... and Blair Waldorf Bass. Serena and Chuck are planning a celebration to remember. Everyone's back in town, including Eric, Jenny, and Vanessa. Even in adulthood, the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite are still scandalous! A Chair centric, post-Dair fic. (AU after 5x19, with a few late season 5 spoilers.)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in the Gossip Girl universe, not even (sadly) Chuck or Nate. Major props to Cecily von Ziegesar, the CW, the producers, actors, and crew, and everyone involved with bringing these amazing characters to life.

**Chapter 7 - Tomorrow**

May 2013, aboard the _Invictus_, then various locations in and around New York City.

_**Eric**_

Should a man feel differently after he's engaged? Eric van der Woodsen couldn't help but wonder. He'd grown up assuming that he would eventually get engaged because that's what people did. Then as he realized that he was attracted to boys and not girls, he figured that he'd never have the chance...

...until he met Alec Bertrand, that is.

Eric still wasn't sure about whether he wanted to take that next step in their relationship. He knew that he loved Alec. But becoming Alec's husband and partner would mean so many things, even beyond dealing with the shit that came with being out of the closet. It meant that instead of exploring his options after graduation, he'd live wherever Alec ended up doing his residency.

He'd managed to avoid his boyfriend's question all night. There were plenty of people to see and catch up with on the boat. It had been a long time since he'd had the chance to speak to Jenny, and an even longer time since he'd caught up with Jonathan Whitney, his ex and friend. Eric was glad that Serena had invited him to the party.

Then everyone else besides immediate family and significant others of the three graduates disembarked... and there was nothing for Eric to do but head back to his cabin.

"_Do I even need to say it again?" said Alec, almost before Eric could close the door._

_Eric looked down at his hand on the doorknob, then removed it, feeling out of sorts. "Must we do this tonight, A?"_

"_Yes, Eric. It is time. The way I see it, either you love me or you don't. Either you want to be with me forever, or you don't."_

"_That's not the problem, Alec. I do want to be with you..." He went to his boyfriend's arms, letting himself be held. "I'm right here."_

"_I love you, Eric. I want to be your husband. I want you to be _my _husband. Answer me."_

_But Eric didn't answer in words. Instead, he kissed him... and they proceeded to do what they did best..._

Six hours later, Eric felt a little claustrophobic in the small cabin. He'd noticed that the digs they'd been assigned weren't as nice as the captain's quarters, or for that matter, as spacious as those given to his brother or sister. But he was used to it. The space he was sharing with Alec was the same size as Jenny's... once the little brother, _always_ the little brother, he supposed. Sliding out of his dozing fiancé's embrace, Eric found his robe and slippers, and slipped out of the cabin.

_Relief. _Eric felt relieved. Was that the way he was supposed to feel? How was this supposed to work? He didn't know. Granted, he didn't have many great examples in marital bliss, gay or straight, on the Upper East Side, but Eric just assumed that when his time came, he'd be more... _certain... _of everything.

He couldn't help but remember the dinner a bubbly, almost giddy Serena had invited him to nearly a year before...

"_Eric! I'm so glad you made it!" said his sister, greeting him as soon as he stepped off the elevator of the van der Humphrey penthouse as soon as he stepped off. Behind her, Nate Archibald had his hands on her shoulders. "Everyone's here now!"_

"_Yeah, I wondered what was so important that I had to take the train all the way from Yonkers on a Saturday... and why are you two so dressed up? Who died?" For Serena had on a gorgeous silver silk dress, and Nate was wearing a pale gray linen suit._

_Serena pulled away from Nate, grabbed her brother's hand, and brought him into the penthouse. Everyone was there. Not only was Rufus there, having recently reunited with Lily, but all of Blair's parents had flown in from France. Harold and Roman were laughing together near the bar, Bart Bass (whom Eric _still _couldn't quite believe wasn't dead) was standing near the foyer, talking with Eleanor Waldorf... Eric wondered why on earth all of Blair's parents would be in New York in the middle of June. And why was it so important that he be there?_

_He accepted a cracker topped with pate from one of the strolling waiters, then greeted Cyrus Rose. Eric had never really talked with him much, but Blair's stepfather was likeable and witty. As Cyrus went on and on about a friend of his who was "a proud Sarah Lawrence graduate," Eric listened in on Bart and Eleanor's conversation._

"_...what this is all about, Bart," Eleanor was saying. "I haven't seen Blair at all since she dropped by... and I do mean 'dropped by' in Paris. You claim not to have seen them at all since they've been back. What's going on?"_

"_Isn't it obvious? My son dipped into his trust fund the summer after I went into Witness Protection, went to Harry Winston, and bought the gaudiest rock he could get his hands on, then threw it away after all his many ups and downs with your daughter. He left it on the doorstep of Harry Winston a few weeks before they were in that car accident."_

"_Surely not! Charles was always extravagant, but..."_

_Bart's expression didn't change. "Fortunately a guard saw it on the surveillance cameras. The diamond was placed into the vaults until my return, when I received a call. I made sure that Blair got it. And I believe she went to see Chuck after my press conference."_

_There was a pause. Eric was glad when Harold and Roman joined their conversation. As they all began talking about the French presidential election, Eric pretended to be interested. (Expats.)_

_"I'm quite amused, Bart, that all these years after we agreed it would be best for us to discourage whatever happened between my daughter and your son that led to the purchase of a _thirty-five thousand dollar necklace_, our children are still together. Who would have thought?"_

"_Oh, I was quite amused when I saw my son was aspiring to a Waldorf. But certainly I thought things were over after he didn't follow her to Tuscany," he observed. "What was that, four years ago now? Seems like a lifetime."_

"_It was. So I suppose after they announce their engagement, there'll be a fair amount of business for the two of us to discuss..."_

"_Obviously. I don't expect my son will come out of this prenuptial agreement as handily as Louis Grimaldi managed to."_

_Eric heard Eleanor groan under her breath. "Don't get me started on that awful nightmare. I don't want to talk about it. Anyway, Bart, we should schedule some time to hammer out the details before they even think about setting a date. Have Eugenia call Laurel to set up a meeting."_

"_Of course."_

_They drifted apart, but Eric could fill in the blanks. Chuck was Bart Bass' sole heir, and Blair was Eleanor Waldorf's. No matter what feelings existed between two heirs of international corporations, their respective lawyers would have to get into bed together before even they could seal the deal. _

_It was depressing._

"_Okay, everyone!" said Serena, as Nate tapped a fork against a glass. "We know you're wondering why we called you all here... and Eleanor, Harold, Cyrus, and Roman, why we flew you in tonight..."_

"_Yes, why be so mysterious, Serena?" said Lily. "We assume this is good news."_

"_One can only hope," muttered Bart darkly._

"_So why don't you just tell us what's going on?" said Eleanor. "Where is my daughter? And for that matter, where is Charles? They're not in some kind of trouble again, are they?"_

_And her wary look was mirrored on all their parents' faces._

_Serena looked at each of them in turn..._

_...then started giggling uncontrollably. She turned to Nate for help._

"_Oh, for crying out loud," said Nate. "Blair! Chuck! You're going to need to do the honors yourselves!"_

_Eric watched as first Blair, then his brother emerged from the back of the penthouse. They were dressed even more glamorously than usual. Blair was a vision in a sleeveless white summer dress, cinched just underneath her bustline with a wide silver belt that glittered with diamonds. As for Chuck, his white suit was accented along the lapels, the cuffs, and the pants were seamed with pale silver thread._

_The looks on their faces were indescribable. Eric knew that he'd never seen either of them look like that before. They looked like they'd died, gone to heaven, and come back as angels. Chuck came to stand next to Blair._

"_Well?" said Eleanor, after only a few seconds of silence. "Everyone knows you're back together, but no one has seen much of you. You've both been gallivanting between New York and Monte Carlo for the past month, it's been all over the French press, and so I'm sure it's on Page Six here. Monaco, of all places, Charles! I'm surprised those vengeful Grimaldis actually allowed you in and out of their country, Blair! What do you have to say for yourselves?"_

_They looked at each other... and _beamed. _(Blair and Chuck, beaming?)_

"_Do you want to say it, or should I?" said Blair. In that moment, Eric could see that Chuck was her entire world._

"_Totally up to you," he replied, eyes only for her._

"_It should be you... go on, tell them."_

_Chuck tore his eyes away from Blair, then looked at each of them in turn. That indescribable look was still on his face._

"_There are two reasons for this dinner. The first reason is that this afternoon, a rather large deposit was made into the Bass accounts... a deposit which equals the amount the Grimaldis demanded to release Blair from her marriage, Dad... and exceeds it. So that should end our dealings with the Monegasque royal family once and for all."_

_The parents all gasped, except for Bart, who raised an eyebrow. "Son, how did you..."_

"_In time, Dad. As great as that was, it's not the best part. The second reason is that I have someone new I'd like to introduce."_

"_Who?" said Lily. "But Charles, there's no one else here..."_

_At this, Serena burst into giggles. Everyone looked at her, including Nate, who just shook his head indulgently._

_Chuck beamed at Blair, whose face mirrored his._

"_I'd like to introduce you to my wife, Blair Bass. We were married at three o' clock this afternoon at City Hall, with Nathaniel and Serena as our witnesses."_

_Eric was as stunned as everyone else, but also as overjoyed. As he waited his turn to congratulate Chuck and Blair (as Eleanor and Lily immediately began to insist that they start planning vow renewals and receptions right away), he couldn't help but notice the little things. Like how their hands clasped, how they stared at each other for a moment longer than was polite in front of others, how joyful Blair's laughter sounded, how the usually slow-spoken Chuck nearly tripped over his words as he talked about his bride._

_They were totally, unmistakably, and completely in love._

As he ascended the stairs to the main deck, Eric thought of that day, and remembered Alec asking his brother and sister-in-law over breakfast the morning before if they planned to have a party celebrating their one-year anniversary. And he noticed the same kinds of meaningful, lingering glances between them, before Blair told them with a smile: "Actually, we're just going to have a quiet, private evening here at home. That's all we really want."

And that's what Eric wanted! He wanted to have the kind of love that his brother had found with Blair. Didn't everyone want that?

But was that what he'd found with Alec?

The early morning gray had broken, and dawn had wrapped its arms around the yacht. It was a warm morning, unusually warm for spring, bringing the promise of another hot day. Eric looked out at the water of the Hudson, considered the small waves lapping against the boat as if they'd provide him with some answers. Then he glanced at the stairs to the top deck, thinking he might as well sit up there with his thoughts.

Instead, quite a sight greeted him as soon as he emerged. For he wasn't alone up there. Curled on the chaise nearest the hot tub was a sleeping couple. A huge beach blanket had been thrown over them, but judging from the clothing strewn nearby, Eric guessed that was all that had covered them from the elements.

For all that, Eric couldn't say that he was exactly _surprised_ to see Jenny Humphrey nestled in Nate Archibald's arms. It had taken six years, but from the looks of it, they'd made up for some lost time the night before.

Suddenly, Eric realized that he was looking straight into Nate's open blue eyes. Nate raised a finger to his lips, silently pleading for silence.

Eric nodded, whirled on his heel, then went back down the stairs... just in time to run into his brother, who had a carton of orange juice in one hand, and two champagne glasses in the other.

"Hey, Chuck, good morning," Eric said.

"Hey. Did the birds get the furniture on the top deck?"

"No, not the birds. But I wouldn't go up there if I were you." He eyed what Chuck had. "Mimosas? I thought you and Blair weren't drinking."

"We're not, but I assume everyone else is. No need to abstain because of us." Chuck tried to look past Eric, up the stairs. "I thought we'd have breakfast on the top deck. I promised Blair a soak in that hot tub before we arrive in New York, so I thought we'd all indulge..."

"Someone beat you to it."

Frown. "Who's up there?"

"Just Nate... and Jenny."

"Fine, they can help us set up."

Eric grabbed Chuck's arm and looked into his eyes.

Chuck raised a questioning eyebrow.

Eric nodded in confirmation.

"Well," said Chuck slowly. "In that case, breakfast will be served on the main deck. Come, Eric, we'll have this done in no time."

And they did. Alongside the macarons and éclairs that were the hallmark of any Bass breakfast, there were croissants and dainty petit-fours, scones, and biscotti. There were steaming carafes of coffee, crystal jugs for juice, and pitchers of clear, cold water infused with cucumber and mint. There was Blair's favorite fruit and yogurt parfait as well.

To go along with the pastries, Chuck brought out a frittata with spinach, artichoke, and aged parmesan.

"Isn't this from the Palace menu?" asked Eric, putting the final items on the table.

"It's a simplified version of what they serve there, yes," said Chuck. "But I made it here."

Eric was stunned. "You can cook?"

"I've never done a five-course meal, no, but any hotelier worth his salt can beat an egg." He beckoned Eric to a chair. "Sit. Begin. I'm going to wake Blair up. She needs to eat and so should you."

"Wait, Chuck..."

His brother was nearly halfway to the stairs, but he doubled back, a curious look on his face.

"Before you wake Blair up, there's something I want to tell you. To ask you."

"Go on," said Chuck, taking the seat opposite Eric's.

"How did you know?"

"Know...?"

"How did you know it was Blair?"

Chuck's eyes narrowed, but not in an unfriendly way. He cocked his head to one side, as if sizing his brother up. Then, slowly...

"Everything about her made me know it. From the time I fell for her, there was never a question that there would ever be anyone else for me. No matter how far I tried to run, hide, or date other women, it was always her."

"Always?"

"Always. If I didn't have Blair in my life, I don't know that I would have ever been in a committed relationship, let alone married. In fact, I'm sure I wouldn't have."

Eric let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "Wow."

They didn't say anything for a few long moments. Then:

"Alec asked me to marry him."

"Allow me to be among the first to offer congratulations," said Chuck without hesitation. "What was your response?"

"I... guess I said yes."

Instead of being elated, Chuck smirked. "There's no guessing about it. Either you said yes or no."

"We didn't exactly talk."

Chuck nodded. "Sometimes, you don't need words."

"But Chuck, it's different with Alec and me than it is with you and Blair..."

"I know."

"And I'm not talking about you being a straight couple or us being a gay one..."

"I knew that, too."

"I just..."

His brother cut him off. "You're not sure you're in love with Alec. Completely understandable. But you need to be honest with him. He deserves that much."

"Easier said than done. I love him and I don't want him to be hurt. It's not just that I don't want to marry him, I don't want to marry anyone. How can I get him to understand that?"

"Well, Eric, far be it from me to suggest that I have any expertise or insight into the way any marriage works except for my own. But Blair's taught me how to live. How to be in the world and of the world, and not just to stand aside and watch. And I will never, ever again run away from life. Or from love, either..."

"Uh, Chuck...?_"_

"What?"

"You just quoted an Audrey movie."

"I did not. That's not from _Breakfast at Tiffany's_."

"Yeah, but it was still Audrey."

"And who am I married to?"

"Yeah, I know, but you're turning into her."

"I'm tired. It's been a long weekend..."

Neither man heard the feminine footfalls approach, so they were startled when they realized they were not alone.

"Actually, it was from _Sabrina," _Blair said, sliding onto her husband's lap, hair back in a braided white headband, clad in a bikini, sarong, and long short-sleeved cover-up. "My wonderful man."

Chuck enthusiastically kissed her hello, as if he hadn't just rolled out of their shared bed a half hour before. "My _incredible_ woman. Did I misquote Miss Fairchild?"

"You did not. That was as perfect as you are," Blair said, kissing him back. "Good morning, Eric."

Eric grinned at them. They were _so _hilarious together. And, they'd be very annoyed if they knew he also found them _cute._

"Hey, Blair. Chuck was just giving me some big brotherly advice."

"Oh, this should be good. What about?"

"Marriage."

Blair looked from Eric to Chuck, then back again.

"_Marriage? _Oh, my God! Eric, congra-"

"Not so fast," said Chuck, placing a finger against her lips. "He isn't sure."

"Oh." She blinked. "Well in that case, don't do it! Take it from someone who knows..."

"Knows what?"

Eric looked up and saw his older sister, padding towards them. There were dark circles under her eyes and she seemed to be in a restless mood. She was wearing a long, sleeveless maxi dress and flip-flops, and her blonde hair tumbled loose and unruly around her shoulders and down her back.

"Your brother's boyfriend proposed last night," Blair said, moving from Chuck's lap to the seat next to him.

"Eric, that's _wonderful!"_ But her smile didn't quite match the look in her eyes. "We're going to tell Natie he'll have to change the name of the _Invictus _to _The Love Boat. _So where is Alec?"

"Still sleeping," said Eric. "But thanks, guys. We'll have a long talk once we're back in the city. I know what I have to do."

Serena sat down on the other side of her brother. "Chuck, I didn't mind cooking."

"Not a problem, sis," said Chuck, sending significant glances Blair's and Eric's way. "I'm sure you and Humphrey wanted to sleep in."

"Actually, we didn't get sleep much at all," said Serena, but not suggestively. She ran a hand through her golden tresses, then reached for an éclair. "Where is Nate? I'd like to know when we're getting back to the city."

"You know the plan was always to return around noon," said Chuck quickly, decidedly _not _looking at Eric. "Maybe a bit before then. That hasn't changed."

Serena let out a sound of frustration, stress and lack of sleep evident in her demeanor. "Well, I'm just ready to get back, that's all."

Blair was staring at Serena, who looked close to tears. "S, why don't you come back to our place this afternoon?" she asked in a soothing tone. "I've wanted to spend some time with you for a while. I need your opinion on the plans we've had drawn up for the baby's room."

"Sorry, B, I can't today. Maybe tomorrow. Dan and I have a couple of errands we need to run right away."

"On a Sunday?" Blair's eyebrow raised. "What could be so important?"

This was exactly the wrong thing to say.

"Excuse me, but I'm sorry that _my life _has to take precedence over _yours _for a change, Blair!" Serena exclaimed.

Chuck saw war on the horizon, and tried to immediately diffuse it. "Ladies, perhaps you should..."

His wife ignored him. "Apparently, Serena! When were you going to tell me about your movie? Don't even bother answering that! I can't believe you were going to cut me out of the biggest thing that's ever happened to you just because you're angry about something that I've apologized for a million times! An apology that _you _keep saying you've accepted!"

"Sure, I accepted it, Blair, until you rubbed what you did _in my face _yesterday!"

"Rubbed it in your face? Rubbed _what? _ _Dan? _I can't believe you! How dare you? I didn't seek Dan out! I haven't even _thought _about Dan Humphrey in over a year..."

"You shouldn't have _ever _been thinking about him at all, Blair! You should have never gone _near _him! He was _mine!"_

"Yours? You weren't dating at the time, hadn't dated in years! I'm tired of being punished for something you claim you've forgiven me for! Stop being ridiculous!"

"Oh, I'm being ridiculous? _I'm _the ridiculous one? You selfish little bitch!"

Chuck was _not _amused. "Serena. Stop this. _Now."_

"Oh, of course you're taking her side! You've always been _stupid _when it comes to Blair! You all let her get away with anything. If I'd done what she did..."

"But you didn't. You couldn't," said Chuck firmly. "Stop saying things you don't mean."

"Exactly," said Blair.

"That goes for both of you," he told her.

Blair's arms folded. "Chuck. I suggest you think about who you're going home with today, and whether you _really _want to _not _take my side."

Eric who had been watching the entire exchange, decided to intervene. "Blair, there are no sides. Serena, you clearly haven't gotten any sleep, why don't you go back below decks and –"

"_Ahhhhhhh! _AAAAAAAAAAH!"

It happened so suddenly that Eric didn't register it at first. When he first opened his mouth, Blair was at her Blairish best, perfectly coiffed, dark eyes sparking at his sister. By the time he said "decks," Blair looked like a drowned rat.

Her first scream was one of shock from Serena reaching over Chuck and throwing the entire pitcher of ice-cold orange juice on her. (Some even splashed on Chuck's Dior polo shirt.)

The second was one of pure rage. Blair was going to pounce on Serena, but Chuck grabbed her as Eric rounded the table to hold back his sister...

...but not before Blair grabbed the pitcher of apple juice, and returned the favor.

By this point, the decks were filling. Crew members peeked warily out of the wheelhouse. A robe-clad Alec emerged from below decks, followed by a rumpled-looking Dan.

And from the top deck, Nate, fumbling to close up his shorts, came rushing down the stairs from the top deck, followed by Jenny (who looked equally disheveled, if anyone bothered to notice, which thanks to Blair and Serena's antics, they didn't).

"What the hell is going on?" Nate shouted, then turned to Chuck. "_What _are they doing?"

"What they always do," Chuck observed, reaching for a napkin to wipe Blair's face, which she snatched and threw back at him.

"You two ought to be ashamed of yourselves!" scolded Nate. "Two pregnant women shouldn't be fighting each other! Hormones are no excuse! Grow up!"

At Nate's words, suddenly the atmosphere changed. Everyone froze and looked at Serena.

"Nate, _how could you_?" she snapped furiously. "I should have known! You never could keep a secret!"

"You're pregnant, too?" Eric asked, confused. "I thought it was just..."

"Blair," said Chuck, staring at his sister. "So that's it. That's what's been going on with you."

"I don't _know_," Serena snapped, squeezing apple juice out of her hair, not looking at anyone in particular. "I may not be. Dan and I are going to find out for sure. _That's _the errand I was going to run, but how dare I take care of my own life when Blair needs me?"

Blair's fury had been replaced by a wounded look.

"So you weren't going to tell me _that_, either," she said, flatly. "Well, Serena, have a nice life. We have nothing left to say to each other, let alone a friendship. As for me, I'm going to get ready for the day... Chuck, _without _your assistance, I want to be alone for a while. Nate, if you're really the captain of this leaky tub, tell your crew to speed it up. I don't want to be on this boat a second longer."

And with those words, Queen B departed.

Eric continued to watch the byplay as Alec made his way towards the ruined table. Dan walked over to Serena, who was now near the railing, who seemed to want nothing to do with him, but he kept talking to her anyway. Jenny was pulling away from Nate, saying "leave me alone," and went below decks, too. Nate, looking frustrated, seemed restless, and Chuck, hands shoved into his pockets, approached his best friend.

Well, his sister and her best friend had been completely honest with each other for the first time in over a year. Maybe it was time for Eric to be honest too.

"Good morning," said Alec, grabbing one of the non-drowned croissants. "Looks like that was quite the show."

"Alec," said Eric slowly. "We need to talk."

_**Nate**_

It was about a half hour before Blair and Serena's fight that morning that Nate Archibald opened his eyes. He had the odd feeling of displacement that you get when you sleep all night somewhere other than in a bed... in this case, a chaise.

But it was a strange, _wonderful _feeling. Without opening his eyes, he sensed that he wasn't alone. Jenny was still in his arms... she felt _amazing _lying on top of him, sleeping soundly. He buried his nose into her hair, inhaling her sweet scent. With a smile, Nate remembered everything. The night before had been _incredible._ So much so that they hadn't managed to get back to his cabin. He couldn't remember when they'd been too exhausted for another round, and had finally drifted off to sleep.

She'd knocked him completely off his feet. First with her admission that he was the leading man in her fantasies, then with everything that followed. Nate knew he'd never forget that night for as long as he lived. He had never, ever been so turned on, never wanted a girl so much. And knowing that he'd been the first to show her so much... to teach her all the pleasure her body could experience... _wow_, what a turn-on that had been.

His arms tightened around her. Even as his body reacted and hardened from her closeness, his heart swelled. Nate had _never _felt quite like this. Even with Serena, it had been raw, all-consuming, all-encompassing desire, a hunger that was never quite sated. With Jenny, it was different. Nate had never felt quite so protective of anyone in his life.

But Jenny was heading back to London in twenty-four hours. She was going back to her life, and he was going back to his.

Suddenly, he had a vision. Since he was Nate, and didn't really like thinking much about the future (why dwell on something you couldn't do anything about?), this was something that didn't happen often. But all of a sudden, in his mind he saw Jenny on the top deck. With a spectacular late summer tan, platinum blonde hair returning to its natural honey blond shade, in two braids down her back. She was wearing a bikini top and short shorts that showed off her sexy, slim figure perfectly, huge sunglasses...

...and holding a perfectly rolled, lit joint up to her lips.

Almost as if she could hear his thoughts, Jenny stirred. Her lips, pressed into his chest, curved into a smile.

Suddenly, he felt as if he was being watched. He looked up and saw Eric van der Woodsen's startled face... were people getting up already? Raising a finger to his lips, he implored Eric not to say anything, and within seconds, he was gone.

He looked down. Jenny's eyes were open. At first, she looked confused. Then she frowned.

"My head is killing me," she murmured, stretching against him in all the right ways. "What time is it?"

"I have no idea," he said quietly, kissing her ear. "Hangover's that bad, huh?"

"You have no idea," she yawned, then stared at him. He studied her features as she began to remember what had happened between them. In the space of less than a minute, her expression changed from that of someone having a casual conversation with a school friend to that of a brand-new lover, shy and uncertain.

Nate felt the changes in her languid, slumbering body as it began to awaken and arouse. He felt the points of her nipples as they pebbled against his chest, felt her wetness begin to kiss his thigh (which had been conveniently trapped between her legs). His cock hardened achingly in response as Jenny's breath hitched, and her pupils dilated.

"We need to go below decks," she whispered. "And have that talk we never got around to having last night."

"Not now," Nate said. "Eric saw us..."

She snatched the sheet closer and looked toward the stairs. "Eric _saw us?_ Nate, who else was up here?"

"Just Eric, and he probably told Alec. But those two won't say anything, and they'll make sure no one else comes up. You know they don't judge."

Jenny was still looking over her shoulder. "I don't want anyone to know what happened."

What did she mean, she didn't want anyone to know? Was she crazy? Nate wanted to shout it from the rooftops. He wanted to banish everyone from his new boat, and proceed to fuck her on every deck, against every railing, in every room, even in the water... (well, perhaps not the Hudson). How was he supposed to hide what they were to each other now?

"Then let's talk."

"Not when we're like this... _Nate, _what are you doing?" she gasped. For he'd lifted her so that she was straddling him, his hard length teasing her entrance. In spite of her words, she moved against him, instinctively trying to impale herself on his cock even as her protests and facial expression were encouraging restraint.

"We don't have much time. Everyone else will be getting up soon," Nate grated, reaching into the pocket of his shorts for one last condom, feeling as he didn't have the presence of mind or the breath to talk. The memory of what she'd felt like wrapped completely around his cock, coming, was just too powerful. If he didn't have her again _right now, _Nate knew he'd go half mad.

Jenny seemed to agree. She snatched the condom from him, and for the first time, rolled it onto his erection herself.

Rolling her over so that her back was against the chaise, Nate slid home. Jenny's legs wrapped around him tightly as their lips met for quite the good morning kiss. Her fingers drew abstract patterns on his back as his hands lifted her in time with his thrusts. Somehow, knowing that their friends could be gathering for breakfast right on the deck below heightened their arousal and sense of urgency.

"You feel great," he groaned softly. In response, she nipped at his lips, the playful side of her coming out. Letting one of her hips go, his hand slid between their mating bodies to palm one of her breasts, then the other...

...then slid down her abdomen to the place where they were joined. His fingers barely touched her there before she let go, bucking against him, mouth opening in a silent scream of pure pleasure. The sight of her triggered Nate's own release, as he exploded into the condom.

Jenny was panting as she clutched him, pulling him close. "Oh, my God," she breathed, kissing his shoulder. "That was fantastic... again."

"Morning after quickie. Best medicine for a hangover." He grinned, touching his lips to her nose. "Head feeling any better?"

"Way better, thanks." Her breath was still erratic. "God, why do you have to feel so good?"

"I could ask you the same question," he said, trying to roll to his side, but she clung close. "Don't want to crush you..."

"You're not crushing me... you're _perfect_..." She trailed off as he kissed her deeply, their tongues mimicking what their bodies had just done.

"Jenny," Nate said, half against her lips, half against her cheek. "I want you to stay."

Her lips found his again. Then, "What?"

"We need to figure this out. Clearly, there's something going on here, there always was, even when we were younger. And we can't figure it out if there's an ocean between us."

"Nate, _no_. What if Vanessa hadn't tried to ruin the graduation party? Would we be here now?"

Nate looked deeply into her eyes, searching.

"Yes."

Jenny frowned.

"All day yesterday from the time Vanessa and I ran into you, I couldn't stop thinking about you."

"Did you say the same thing to Vanessa when you slept with her the same night you walked away from Lola?"

_Ouch._

"Hey, it's not the same!"

"Yeah, sure it isn't. I refuse to be your rebound, Nate. You hop from girl to girl, from woman to woman. We can have fun, but..."

Now it was his turn to frown. "Fun? Jenny, this is more than fun for me..."

"Stop it. I already know, and I don't need you to tell me, Nate. You're always going to be in love with Serena, and you've always liked Vanessa a lot. I'm the bronze medalist here. I know where I stand on the platform, and I'm okay with that... as long as you don't lie to me."

"Really?"

"We're both adults, Nate. I'm not some sixteen year old girl looking for Prince Charming or a fairy tale. You showed me a good time last night, and the feelings were mutual. That's all."

"That's all. Then what was this morning?"

"Attraction. Lust. Two horny young adults with hormones and spring fever."

"I thought you didn't do casual sex."

"There's a first time for everything. Won't be the last, let me assure you."

Nate studied her pretty face. Still flushed a bit from her orgasm, she looked completely earnest. He'd gotten to know her well enough over the years to recognize when she wasn't being completely candid.

This wasn't one of those times.

In spite of himself, and his determination not to care too much about anything, Nate was annoyed. What did she mean, it was all lust? No, it wasn't! There was too much that had gone on between them before their night together. Girls who Nate had "just sex" with, he didn't mind if they went away.

But Nate minded very much that it... this... didn't mean anything to Jenny. So she was going to go back to London, and now that he'd broken her "casual sex" cherry, was she going to explore her options?

The thought of some other guy doing all the things with Jenny that he did made Nate pretty angry. He was not okay with that.

"No," said Nate. "That isn't you."

"How do you know?" she said flatly.

"Because you waited _three years_ to have sex again," he replied softly. "Because you dream about me. Because you want to touch yourself when you do. Because _I _want to be the one who touches you instead. And..."

"And?" she whispered.

"Because after last night, I'm going to dream about you, too."

Jenny's lips parted. He pressed his against them. There was now a teasing look in her eyes. "Why?"

"Because you're brave and talented, _gorgeous _as hell_, _and sexier than I could have ever imagined. Because you make me laugh at how outrageous you can be. Because even after all this time, you still have feelings for me... even after I let you down."

"Yes," she breathed, mouth centimeters away from his. "And that's why you're dangerous. That is why _this _can't leave this boat."

"That's ridiculous."

"Is it? Here, we're not in either of our worlds. I don't want to be in your bed in that Empire suite, or to be in it ever again at all for reasons that should be obvious. And I don't want you in my London flat, either."

"The Empire I get, but why not London?"

"Nate, I don't want all the memories of you in my first apartment when my brother messes up again, and you go running back to Serena. I spent my teen years infatuated with you. Now that we've slept together, I have to be the sensible one here. There's nothing about your track record that indicates you're not going back to Serena. I saw you kissing her yesterday. Yes, she's with Dan, but I don't know... she seems as if she'll ping-pong back and forth between the two of you forever. And I'm no longer interested in playing the vengeful crazy girl who loses her shit because you decide to run off with your Non-Judging Breakfast Club destiny."

Nate blinked at Jenny's use of the name that the four childhood Upper East Side friends had for each other. "How did you know Blair calls us that?"

"Remember, I majored in Blair throughout Constance. But I'm no longer interested in being Blair or Serena. I'm me, Jenny Humphrey. And I deserve more than to be anyone's third choice."

"Jenny, you'll never be..."

That's when they heard the commotion below, and Blair's scream. Nate jumped up first, grabbing his pants and her nightshirt.

"What's going on?"

"I don't know. But it doesn't sound good. I know that scream."

Within seconds, Nate was scrambling down the stairs of the top deck, with Jenny close on his heels.

"What the hell is going on?" He looked at his best friend, whose polo shirt was splattered with orange specks, but who still had on his most inscrutable Bass face. "_What _are they doing?"

"What they always do," Chuck said smoothly, handing Blair a napkin, which she proceeded to throw at him. (What else is new, thought Nate. Those two.)

Nate decided someone had to be reasonable here. Blair and Serena were really too old for these antics.

"You two ought to be ashamed of yourselves! Two pregnant women shouldn't be fighting each other! Hormones are no excuse! Grow up!"

It took Nate a moment to realize that he'd said something that shifted the conflict altogether. Everyone was still, and everyone was looking at Serena... who was giving him her best _et tu, Brute? _stare.

"Thanks a lot, Nate," she snapped. "You never could keep a secret."

"You're pregnant, too?" her little brother asked. "I thought it was just..."

"Blair," Chuck finished for him. "So that's it. That's what's been going on with you."

"I don't _know_," Serena said harshly, still glaring at Nate. "I may not be. Dan and I are going to find out for sure. _That's _the errand I was going to run, but far be it from me to take care of my own damn life when Blair needs me..."

But Nate knew Blair was furious.

"So you weren't going to tell me _that_, either? Well, Serena, have a nice life. We have nothing left to say to each other, let alone a friendship. As for me, I'm going to get ready for the day... Chuck, _without _your assistance, I want to be alone for a while. Nate, if you're really the captain of this leaky tub, tell your crew to speed it up. I don't want to be on this boat a second longer."

She flounced toward the stairs leading below decks. Nate glanced at Chuck, who had on his "oh, shit, here's another fucking crisis" face. Eric's boyfriend Alec and Dan had emerged from below, passing Blair. Alec went to Eric, and Dan made a beeline for Serena.

Nate turned around to check on Jenny, see if she were all right. They really did need to finish their conversation and now that he knew the clatter had just been another (overdue) round in the lifelong match between Blair Waldorf Bass and Serena van der Woodsen, he could now see about his own business.

"As that saga continues..."

But Jenny was pulling away when he tried to reach for her hand.

"No wonder."

"Huh?"

"No wonder. _No wonder. _Serena's pregnant and you just found out. You knew you'd have no more chance since she and my brother are starting a family. Might as well collect the consolation prize, huh?"

"_What? _ Jenny, stop it!"

"Leave me alone!"

Nate felt helpless as she ran towards the stairs. Part of him was annoyed by her insecurity. It was why he and Vanessa had never worked out. Nate wasn't interested in Serena anymore, but she was still one of his best friends. He wanted to explore things with Jenny. Why couldn't she see that the night before had changed everything?

"Hey, Archibald," said Chuck, hands in his pockets. "Looks like you could use a good smoke."

"Yeah, but thanks to this being a surprise, I don't have my stash here with me..."

Chuck pulled his hand out of his pocket. In it, he had two perfectly rolled joints.

Nate raised an eyebrow.

"I'm Chuck Bass."

"Yeah, but I thought you weren't, because of fatherhood and all."

"Who said anything about these being for me? These are for you. Unless you'd rather have your morning coffee first."

"Nah, we can eat after."

The two best friends made their way to the top deck, sitting at the bar area. Chuck found a light, and soon, the familiar smoke was curling inside of Nate's lungs. As he smoked, Chuck thumbed through his phone messages, then put it down on the counter.

"So, Nathaniel," he said to Nate. "Day after graduation. How does it feel?"

"Feels good, man," said Nate. "One more thing off the checklist."

"Yes," Chuck said. "One more thing that my father is suddenly on my case about. I didn't get to tell you, but he wants me to go to Yale after the baby's here. Finish my bachelor's degree while Blair's in law school."

"But you hate school."

"I hated St. Jude's," Chuck pointed out. "I did better than you until we were in eighth grade, remember. Tried to get the old man to let me do online courses for high school, but you know Bart."

"Yeah."

The two young men were silent. Nate knew exactly what Chuck was thinking and why he was frustrated. It was why Nate, although his extended family's fortune ran deep, always had limits set, and Chuck never did. It was why Bart was lenient and harsh at the same time. All of the new money families in their world had status anxiety that was limited to the first generation. Bart would never be completely comfortable being part of their world, although he'd adapted. Yet Chuck was born into it and knew nothing else.

"So what are you going to do?"

"I'm thinking of something. Need to run it by Blair first, so we'll see."

"Speaking of which."

Chuck grabbed a bottle of water from the counter and twisted the cap. "Yes, Nathaniel, you don't have to remind me that my pregnant wife is fighting with my possibly pregnant sister. Just be grateful that you're not in the middle of it this time."

"They're still my best friends," Nate pointed out.

"I know, but you don't have to live with one, or share a parent with the other." Taking a swig of the water, Chuck recapped the bottle and glanced at Nate. "So that's what she wanted to tell you last night when you interrupted us in the lounge."

"Yeah. She doesn't know for sure yet, but they say women usually know these things."

"And if she is, it's Humphrey's."

Nate would have been irritated if he wasn't busy getting high. "You know it is, man."

"Just stating the obvious," Chuck drawled. "Guess the pact to marry our children off sometime in the future is null and void."

"It's a mess, that's for sure," said Nate. "Been a mess for years. I don't know why Blair had to date Dan in the first place. Just because you don't want to kill someone of the opposite sex doesn't mean you should sleep with them..."

Chuck's eyes narrowed. "Speaking of which."

"No, I'm not discussing _her_ with you," said Nate sharply. "You lost that right, all rights to talk about _her_ three years ago. Maybe even six years ago at that silly party Blair threw the day Serena came back from boarding school..."

"I come in peace," said Chuck sardonically, holding up both hands in a conciliatory gesture. "You know I have no interest other than your happiness. All I'll say, Nathaniel, is that it's about time."

Nate frowned. "I thought you always wanted me and Serena to date."

"I don't have any opinions about who you date..."

"Except when I was with Blair."

Chuck smirked. "Of course. _If_ what you did with her all those years could be considered dating."

"Anyway, I thought you were on board with me and S hooking up."

"I was, until my sister couldn't shake the bum from Brooklyn. You deserve better than that, Nathaniel. And you've always had a thing for Jenny Humphrey..."

"Who's also from Brooklyn."

"Semantics," said Chuck. "I'm just glad that you finally opened your eyes. The girl has only been panting after you for the past seven years."

Nate didn't want to think about that. "Maybe."

"Don't take that for granted. Take it from someone who's been..." Chuck was going to say something else, but just then, the phone rang. "Shit, it's Vittor calling from Monaco. I have to take this."

"Monaco?" Nate thought it was the last place Chuck would have any dealings with, especially after they'd gotten back Blair's dowry.

"We still have a hotel there. He's our executive manager. There's been one problem after another ever since... let me take this..."

Nate watched Chuck as he moved to the center of the deck to take the call. He thought about everything that Chuck and Blair had been through over the years. Yet they had a strong, committed, and loving relationship. Like Serena always said about them, two wrongs made the most twisted right anyone in their world had ever seen.

Was that what Nate wanted? They didn't have great examples among their parents. All of them had divorced and changed partners over the years as if they were playing a game of musical chairs. Wasn't that what was expected? Almost no one in their world got to have what Chuck and Blair did... certainly his past relationships had all been disasters.

Well, what if he tried dating a girl who wasn't from their world? Yes, Vanessa hadn't been, but she'd made no effort to even try. She was who she was, and didn't believe in meeting a man (or anyone else) halfway. While Nate respected that before her spate of crazy on his graduation day, he didn't see much future with a girl who thought like that.

Now Jenny... Jenny was special. She was clearly not from the Upper East Side, but she wasn't really your typical Brooklyn girl either. Life had made her into a girl who was truly from both worlds. She wasn't an entitled society princess, but she wasn't some crunchy granola hipster, either. She was... Jenny. He'd never met anyone else quite like her.

A freshly showered Blair, who was climbing the deck stairs with an armful of fabric, interrupted Nate's thoughts. He hurriedly put out his joint (which was burning low anyway).

"Chuck, I can't believe you brought this grandma dress for me to..." She trailed off when she saw her husband raise an imploring finger, then continue his conversation. "Oh."

"He's on the phone with the Monaco hotel's executive manager," Nate explained as she walked toward the bar. "Something about problems."

Blair sat down, frowning, eyes never leaving Chuck's pacing figure. "Yes, that hotel's been in trouble for almost two years. They're thinking of selling out."

"That's crazy. I remember when Bart bought that one, when we were in sixth grade. All of our families went to Monte Carlo for Easter, remember?"

"I remember," said Blair, very softly. "But it's no use. The decisions we make come back to bite us, Nate. All the time."

Nate still was feeling the effects of the joint. "Hey. No worries. I'm sure Chuck will take care of it, and if he can't, Bart's there."

"Yes, I suppose," she said. "So Serena told you she was pregnant, did she?"

Nate knew there was no right answer. "Yeah, she needed to talk things out with someone, and she was dying to tell you and Chuck, but wasn't sure how you'd take it. And I'm sorry I said anything, it wasn't my place."

"No, it wasn't. But I'm glad you did. It just shows me that Serena and I no longer consider ourselves best friends."

"Maybe you don't _consider_ yourselves best friends anymore. But that doesn't mean you aren't. None of us can get rid of the others."

Blair, in spite of herself, cracked a smile. "It's been two decades. Maybe I want a _vacation_ sometime. Or at least a day off."

"Please, what would you do without us? Besides, you can't stand to be away from Chuck these days more than a couple of hours. Look at you, you said you were going back to your cabin."

"I was, until I saw this designer potato sack that he left for me. I don't have any more outfits on this floating tin can you're calling a yacht, but this one's too loose. I'll look like a whale in it..."

"Maybe Jenny can make it fit. She might have her sewing stuff with her."

"Oh, that's right," said Blair, staring at him as if her eyes were a microscope. "Jenny Humphrey _is _still on this boat. And did I sense that you and Jenny Humphrey were having a moment up here before breakfast, hm?"

Nate just stared at her, glassy eyed. Ugh, he didn't really want to talk about Jenny with _Blair _of all people.

"I see."

"You see nothing, Blair. Leave her alone."

"Don't worry, I'm not going to do anything to her, Nate," Blair said. "This isn't eleventh grade, we're college graduates and I'm going to get my dress taken in. Please tell Chuck I'll be ready in half an hour... bye!"

Nate sat for a minute more, staring at the spot Blair had vacated, until Chuck was off the phone. He sauntered over, stuffing his cell into a pocket.

"What happened?"

"Same old tricks," Chuck shrugged. "Inspector shut the hotel down an hour ago, so Vittor was making a few calls with me on the line. Fire's extinguished for now." He paused. "And yes, before you ask, the inspector's a friend of the royal family."

"Whoa. Do you think the Grimaldis will ever get over what happened between Louis and Blair?"

"Of course they won't. But it doesn't mean that my father's company should lose one of its most profitable hotels over mistakes that Blair and I made. We'll keep it open for as long as it's viable, and when it isn't, we'll sell."

"Makes sense."

"Anyway, back to our previous conversation, Nathaniel. I think you know what you want. Your problem is that you've never been committed enough to go after it. Maybe it's time for that to change."

"Are you talking about Jenny?" Nate asked.

"I'm talking about everything in your life," said Chuck. "Ready for breakfast?"

Nate shrugged, feeling listless. He wasn't hungry all of a sudden. He wanted to check on Jenny. He wanted to explain to her that he hadn't gone to her because of anything Serena related.

He _wanted_ her. He just wanted to be with her... when it was just the two of them, things weren't complicated. They made sense.

But...

"Yeah, man. Let's go."

_**Jenny**_

Jenny Humphrey had never enjoyed a shower more than the one she took on Nate's boat that morning. In spite of her frustration over learning what she believed were his motives for sleeping with her, she couldn't feel used or betrayed. Her body just felt too _good _for that.

Stepping out of the shower, she wrapped herself in a towel. When she'd come down here after hearing Serena's baby news, she originally wanted to stew. But the feminine side of her wasn't cooperating very well. Never had she felt more _alive_. Never had she felt more _cherished_. Unbidden, memories of the night before flooded her senses. They'd made love several times before falling asleep, exhausted, only to wake up this morning and...

_If we hadn't been interrupted, I think we'd still be up on that deck. What a night. What a morning._

_And what a man..._

_No, we're not going to think about _that_. It was just sex. That's all._

_Good sex. Even great sex. Right?_

_Right. But great sex I'll have to learn to live without. In less than 24 hours I'm heading back to my real life, and Nate can figure out what he's going to do with his. _

She'd just begun to dry off when she heard a knock on the door. _Nate. _Half of her inner being sank with dread, the other half rose up in anticipation.

"Come in!" she called.

But the head that peeked in was not dark blond, but brunette. Not male, but female...

"Oh, my apologies," said Blair, holding a dress in her arms. "Didn't realize you were still getting dressed."

"That's okay," said Jenny, feeling slightly off balance. "I was actually hoping that I'd get the chance to speak with you before I head back to London, Blair."

"Perhaps you should finish dressing first," Blair replied smoothly. "Then come to my cabin. I've got some things to discuss with you as well."

Fifteen minutes later, Jenny found herself hovering in the doorway of the Bass cabin. She'd dried her hair and thrown it back into a quick ponytail, and put on an Alexander McQueen t-shirt with a pair of denim shorts and sandals. She looked around. There was no sign of Blair or Chuck.

"Come in and close the door," said Blair, coming out of the bathroom in a slip.

Jenny felt out of her depth as she walked in. It had been a long time since the first time she'd come into Blair's boudoir as a freshman minion, and although Jenny had won many victories against her and even defeated the legendary Queen B, the situation still felt awkward.

"Have a seat," said Blair, going to the dresser and picking up a brush.

"Blair, I just wanted to say that..."

"Sit _down_."

Jenny eyed Blair, then decided to do so, crossing her legs. Blair sat at the dresser and brushed her freshly dried hair. Under her breath, she counted strokes as she always did. Jenny remembered this well, remembered Blair telling her that Dorota had taught her as a small child.

When she got to fifty-nine, Jenny spoke.

"Blair, I'm really sorry about what happened with Chuck all those years ago."

Blair turned around and looked at her, face unreadable.

"Are you?"

"Yes, I mean... God, I was such a little bitch back then, and I was so angry about everything in my life. I just hate that I..."

"That's enough, Jenny_. _Stop it right now. I don't want to talk about something that happened between you and Chuck years ago, that _he's _made up to me, that doesn't matter anymore. I'm over it, and you should be too. That's not why I wanted to talk to you." She looked over her shoulder. "Seeing you makes me think of my Constance days... high school graduation... and the last civil conversation you and I had together."

"What conversation?"

"The night I crowned you queen. Do you remember what I said?"

Actually, Jenny had to strain to remember it. She'd spent the past few years trying to forget as many of the minute details of her Constance experience as possible.

"Um... the girls said that whoever had the biggest piece of gossip would be crowned queen at midnight, so..."

"_No." _Blair regarded Jenny carefully as she continued to brush her hair in the dresser mirror. "Jenny, do you know why I made you a minion back then? There was something I saw in your eyes. Blind ambition. Innate power. Perseverance. And most of all _strength. _That was you._"_

She turned around, eyes narrowed.

"Are you still strong, Jenny? You seem a little unnerved... you haven't been like that around me for a long time."

"Well, maybe this weekend is bringing up old memories for a lot of us."

Blair nodded slowly.

"I was always impatient with weakness, you know. Not just when I saw it in others, but when I sensed it in myself. I couldn't abide it. I had to stamp it out. That's why people hated me so much... but it's also why they feared and respected me." She paused. "Last night, Penelope Shafai laughed and said I was a bully... did you feel that way, too?"

Jenny thought about it, thought about all her encounters with Blair.

"Sometimes when I first met you, I did. But then, I became Queen."

There was a brilliant flash, a bolt of lightening in Jenny's eyes as she remembered.

"And I do remember that moment, Blair. You told me that 'you need to be cool to be queen. Anne Boleyn thought only with her heart and she got her head chopped off. So her daughter Elizabeth made a vow never to marry a man. She married a country. Forget boys. Keep your eye on the prize. You can't make people love you, but you can make them fear you.'"

"Very good, Jenny. It's been years. I'm impressed."

"What Queen worth her salt doesn't remember her own coronation?"

Their eyes locked. Blair leaned forward to pick up the dress that was on the bed, the same she'd been carrying earlier. Jenny looked away, breaking the stare first.

"I handed you the crown... and didn't take my own advice," said Blair, going into the closet to change. "I wasted what should have been the best years of my life getting lost in one man after another. First Chuck, then Louis, then ugh, your brother."

Jenny shook her head as Blair grimaced.

"I just wanted to tell you that I'm proud of you. You've done a fine job applying that advice I gave you to your own life. I've been following your career." Blair paused reflectively. "My mother was right about you. You have an eye that's second to none. That painting that you chose for us..."

"Blair Waldorf, doling out compliments? I'm flattered."

"Well, you are my protégé, after all... even if we have gotten a little, shall we say, derailed over the years?"

Blair stepped out of the closet, fully dressed.

"Yeah... hey, your dress is from Lilly Pulitzer's spring collection, right? Nice."

"It is, isn't it? It's an original, of course. But..." She eyed Jenny. "Go on."

"I think I would have added a dart, and maybe shortened the hem about two or three inches. It's pretty enough, but wouldn't it have been more eye-catching if they'd made it more A-line instead of a sheath? They should've given it more of a shape. But hey, it _is _Lilly Pulitzer, right? Very much your scene, so take what I have to say with a grain of..."

Blair turned around with a smirk.

"What are you waiting on, Jenny? Let's do something about this dreadful dress so I can actually wear it."

Jenny stood up, heading toward the door. "I've got everything I need with me. I can't believe your husband arranged for all of our suitcases to be on board... I've got my hand machine, back in my room... it will take me ten minutes, tops..."

Soon, Jenny was back in the Bass cabin, pinning Blair so that she knew exactly where she wanted to cut and sew for the tailoring. And the two women talked fashion. Jenny had been impressed with Waldorf's collection at Paris Fashion Week. Blair had seen some of Jenny's apprentice work, courtesy of Eric.

"I just love where Jean-Pierre has taken the Waldorf brand, Blair. He's really brought the label into the twenty-first century. He and your mother make quite the team."

"Yes, they do, don't they?" Blair paused. "Did you know that my mother plans to retire soon?"

"No, I didn't know that," Jenny said. "Why? She's too young to retire."

"Perhaps, but she's been CEO for nearly thirty years. She says she's ready to enjoy her life. Cyrus is only taking a few cases per year, and they're looking to travel." Blair paused again. "I know Jean-Pierre would like to have his own label, and now he has the name and the means to launch it. So Waldorf may be looking for a new head designer soon."

The statement hung on the air.

For the next few minutes, they were quiet. Jenny finished pinning Blair. She then took the dress over to the dresser, pulled out her shears, portable machine, and a fantastic array of thread, and went to work.

Soon, Blair was back in the dress. _Everything _looked better when tailored, but Jenny Humphrey's eye went far beyond that of a tailor. She'd taken the fashion world by storm when she was fifteen, and since then had worked with some of the top designers around the world. She'd completely transformed a pretty but shapeless summer frock to something that was eye-catching. Blair's barely-there baby bump was no longer camouflaged in yards of fabric, but part of a flattering, tasteful silhouette.

Even Blair, who was never overly generous with words of praise, had to say something.

"I thought my mother was ridiculous for going on and on about you all those years ago. But Mom was right, Jenny. You really _are _going to be the next Stella McCartney or Donna Karan."

"I love the colors," Jenny said.

"But..." Blair prompted.

"But... I think I'd love to make this over for you in silk crepe de chine. I have this amazing bolt of it back in my flat in London. I'd notch the collar and take off the sleeves..."

"Yes," said Blair, admiring her reflection in the mirror. "Please do, and invoice me. _I like your taste,_ Jenny Humphrey. And I just might want that crepe de chine you're describing for my clambake. It's in three weeks, so you'll have to work quickly."

She shrugged. "Sure, no problem."

Blair just _looked _at her.

"What, do you think I'd actually turn down a chance for my work to be in all the international magazines the year I'll be graduating? Not a chance."

Blair cracked a half-smile. Inwardly, she was laughing. Jenny Humphrey, even after all these years, was still _so _amusing.

"Don't get too edgy, now. After all, I am the 'softer side of Bass Industries,'" said Blair, quoting _Forbes_ magazine's feature article with a hint of pride in her voice. "All the same, make it sexy as well as tasteful. I loathe maternity clothing."

"Oh, I have your clambake dress in my head already," said Jenny confidently. Thinking about the midnight summer's dream she'd just had, and the dress idea that sprang from her imagination. "You'll see. The crepe de chine you can use for a different function..."

"Well, let's not get ahead of ourselves," Blair cautioned. "Your dress has to be better than everything else I'm sent. Everyone who's anyone on the East Coast knows that Chuck and I are having our first-ever party in the Hamptons, everyone who's anyone will be there, so top designers have already been sending me dresses to consider."

Jenny wasn't entirely comfortable with this development... until she saw Blair crack a slight smile. Which she returned.

"Anyway, this will be an event, Jenny, that a young up-and-coming designer ought to be seen at. _If _I choose this dress of yours, you'll need to be around to meet everyone, not tucked away in England..."

"I'm sure that can be arranged," Jenny said smoothly. "I can be here that weekend."

"Good."

Jenny picked up her basket and was about to leave.

"Jenny, there's one more thing. An addendum I'd like to add to the charge I gave you years ago."

"An addendum?"

"To the part about boys."

This was something Jenny knew she didn't want to hear. Not right now.

"You don't have to be all by yourself, Jenny. Elizabeth was queen of England, but Victoria ruled an entire global empire. And she loved Prince Albert her entire life."

"Blair, I'm fine," Jenny shrugged. "I'm not interested in having a boyfriend."

"Oh, please, Little J," said Blair. "You can't be 'not interested' in something that you've never had. And I know you've spent some _quality_ time with Nate this weekend."

"That's none of your business."

Blair smirked. "Of course it's my business," she said. "Nate is one of my best friends. And I may no longer be your Queen, but you are still my protégé. And you know what's better than ruling all you survey?"

Jenny shook her head.

"Love."

Jenny's eyes fluttered closed.

"Blair. Not everyone gets to have what you have..."

"Just stop. What Chuck and I have is very special, true. But Jenny, just as you have an eye for fashion, _I _have an eye for people. You want more than a crown. You want a prince to share your kingdom with. Always have."

"Blair..."

"And there's no shame in admitting that," Blair continued. "There's a reason why I chose you, twice, when we were younger. There's a reason I'm choosing you again after everything that's happened between us. Remember that."

Jenny didn't say anything. But as she gathered her things and Blair went to put on her makeup and jewelry, she marveled at how easy it was to get sucked back into this world, over and over again.

_Well, I can't afford it. I can make Blair's dresses, I can sleep with Nate Archibald once or twice (okay, so maybe it was four times), but I'm still not going back to the Upper East Side._

_Nothing can make me stay here._

_**Serena**_

She had every right to be angry with Blair. _Furious_ with her, Serena thought. Maybe that was the problem. She'd been letting Blair walk all over her since childhood, and now her best friend thought Serena was her punching bag.

_Paranoid. Jealous. Insecure. Mean. _Dark thoughts about Blair swirled around in Serena's mind as she leaned against the railing, ignoring everyone around her, watching Nate's vessel pull closer to the Manhattan skyline that now dominated the panoramic landscape. Standing there in her yellow halter dress, feeling the sun's strong rays bearing down, (it was going to be another hot one), Serena tipped her wide-brimmed hat further over her forehead and adjusted oversized Marchesa sunglasses.

_Hope I never have to deal with Blair Waldorf again after I leave this boat. _Yes, wouldn't that be something? Too bad Lily wasn't going to disown Chuck anytime soon. She knew that everyone was going to press her to make up with Blair, even though when Serena was most honest with herself, she really didn't want to this time.

_She stole the love of my life when she didn't care about him at all._

_She came waltzing back as if everything was okay._

_But it's not. What she did with Dan almost ruined us. Dan and I had been through so much, and yes, I messed up. So did he. Things were even before Blair. But she didn't have to flirt with Dan, sneak around with him, lead him on, and then _date _him! _

_Blair dated Dan when she was still in love with Chuck! How could she? She made him fall in love with her. Then she broke his heart. My best friend broke the love of my life's heart!_

_Best friend my _ass.

_Now everyone thinks I'm a fool because I'm still in love with Dan._

_And Dan doesn't love me. Not anymore. No matter what he says.  
_

_Maybe he never did._

_And I may be having his kid._

Serena's heart beat fast, thinking about the pregnancy test she was going to take later in the day. Of course, thanks to blabbermouth Nate, everyone in their inner circle knew her worst fears... which were just added to her humiliation from the day before when Dan actually chased after Blair a year after their breakup. Everyone knew!

And on top of everything she was feeling, wrestling with, and tormented by, _Blair _actually used _Serena's _bad situation as an opportunity to play the victim once again. To play the "Serena's such a bad friend because she doesn't make me her world" card again.

Serena van der Woodsen was sick of it! Sick of putting up with Blair Waldorf's antics!

Sick...

Before she knew it, her insides were heaving, and she was throwing up into the Hudson River.

"Hey," said Dan, suddenly there, arm around her waist, free hand pulling her hair out of her face. "Did you get a little seasick there?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Serena grimaced, straightening up. "Sorry."

"Nothing to be sorry about," said Dan. He beckoned for a crew member, and asked for a bottle of water. "Especially in your condition."

"Dan, we don't know for sure."

"Serena, you've barely eaten and you keep throwing up."

"That was just last night and just now. Water's choppy."

"You were throwing up a lot a few weeks ago..."

"That was the bad batch of pierogies you brought home right after Easter," Serena shuddered. "You know I don't do Polish food unless Dorota's making it."

"Yeah, I know," said Dan, taking a bottle of water from a crew member. "Just like you know how much I love it."

Serena snatched the bottle away from him, frowning. "Then maybe you should've left the boat last night with your fellow Polish food loving friend."

"I chose you over Vanessa," Dan said, watching her chug the water.

"Yeah, and then you chose Blair over me," said Serena bitterly. "How do you think that makes me feel, Dan?"

"Like you're going to punish me for it forever," Dan replied, sighing. "Look, it was a terrible mistake. A mistake that I promise to make up to you for the rest of our lives..."

"Completely unnecessary," Serena snapped. "Since you and I are going to be leading separate lives, feel free to pine after my bitchy _former_ best friend as long as you want."

Dan's shoulders slumped. "Look, I get it. You need some time. But Serena, I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. I love you. As much as I've tried to stop, I can't. I'm still _in _love with you. I'm going to do whatever it takes to get you to see that."

Serena didn't watch him walk away. Good. Maybe someday he'd walk, and stay away. Maybe then she could finally purge herself from all things Dan Humphrey.

The crew announced their arrival within the next ten minutes, and the deck began to fill. Serena pointedly ignored Chuck and Blair. Chuck looked as if he was going to drag Blair over, but Blair pulled him to the opposite side of the deck. Good. There was more where that pitcher of orange juice came from... Serena would be more than happy to drench her again!

Alec came up, alone. He waved absently at Serena, apparently lost in thought. She waved back.

Then came Jenny and her brother Eric. Jenny's face was guarded as the two walked over to where Serena stood.

"So. A baby," said Eric, without softening the blow.

"We don't know yet. So if you tell Mom anything, Eric, I'll kill you."

"Serena. When do I tell our mother _anything?"_

"Good point." She looked Jenny over. "And please, don't tell your dad."

"Yeah, sure," Jenny shrugged. "Excuse me a moment..."

Just like that, Jenny was gone. After chatting a few more moments, Eric followed her lead. Then Nate sauntered over, captain's hat on, an apologetic look on his face.

As if Serena was in the mood for olive branches.

"Nate, I'm not talking to you," said Serena. "I shared that with you in confidence."

"And I didn't mean to blurt it out. It was wrong of me, and I'm sorry."

Serena let out a puff of air. She was just so damn _frustrated._

"You look like you didn't sleep a wink last night," Nate told her. "Conversation with Dan was that rough, huh?"

She frowned. "Well, it certainly didn't go as expected. Apparently announcing that you might be having his baby elicits declarations of love from Daniel Humphrey. He's been stuck on me like glue all morning. Even washed the juice out of my hair."

"Ah. Must be love."

"More like guilt. He hates to be in the wrong, so it's killing him that I have the moral high ground this time. Trust me, he's going to be looking for every opportunity to even the score."

"Maybe not. You may be carrying his kid."

"I don't care. This is still Dan Humphrey. It's how he operates."

Nate paused, as if he was considering whether to share something or not. Then, he seemed to come to a decision.

"Yeah. I get being frustrated with Humphreys."

Now it was Serena's turn to look at Nate, curiously. "What are you saying?"

"I mean... thank you for telling Jenny to wait with me when you went to be with Dan last night. She did."

And Serena hadn't known Nate since they were four or five for nothing. One glance told her all she needed to know.

She shouldn't have cared. Of course, she'd noticed, despite her fury over Blair's antics, that Nate had been half dressed when he yelled at her and Blair, and Jenny was in complete dishabille. But to have the confirmation of it _hurt _in a way that she hadn't really felt about Nate since...

Well, she'd never felt _jealous_ when it came to Nate before.

"Oh," Serena said. "That's... good, I guess."

"Yeah. If you hadn't sent her up, I probably would've slept the night away," he grinned.

"Dan says she's heading back to London tomorrow," said Serena, feeling suddenly glad that Jenny was flying to the other side of the world.

"Oh, I'm going to see if I can't convince her to stay here for a few more weeks, at least until her classes start," Nate said easily. "We'll see how it goes."

"Good luck with that," Serena replied, trying to sound as if she meant it.

Soon, they were docking, and finally, mercifully, this party cruise was over. No one really said much as they disembarked and the crew brought their luggage. On the street beyond the marina, transportation was waiting, including Chuck's limo and two town cars.

"The limo's going to the Upper East Side, and the town cars are going to Brooklyn and Hudson," Chuck announced. "Eric and Alec, you're coming with us. Jenny, the car will take you to your mother's."

"Thanks, Chuck, I'll be able to save this train pass for another trip," Jenny said. "Thanks, Blair."

"Good. Serena, the town car's for you and..."

"No, I'm good," Dan snapped, not looking at Chuck, slinging his duffel over his shoulder. "I'll hail a cab for us, Serena."

"Actually, I have to go back to the Waldorfs to pack," Serena said. "I'll see you after I drop my things off at my mom's."

"I'll go with you," said Dan, "but _not _in that car. Or anything else Bass Industries owns." He started walking up the block.

Blair, who had been determined to ignore Serena's existence for the rest of the day, spoke up then.

"You can't seriously be abandoning _my mother's home _without a single word to me, Serena!"

"Actually, I was planning to call Eleanor this afternoon. Yes, I'm moving out, Blair, and in my opinion, she should sell_."_

"_Sell my childhood home? _How dare you!" exclaimed Blair. "Serena, when is this going to end?"

"Serena," Nate snapped. "Do you _have _to do this _now?"_

"Nate, do you always have to take Blair's side? Bad enough that Chuck always does, I don't need to hear it from you too!"

"We can give you a ride to the penthouse," Chuck said. "It's on the way, and we can discuss this in private..."

"Chuck, if you think I'm going anywhere _near _Blair right now, you're crazier than I thought."

Jenny stepped forward to place a friendly hand on Serena's shoulder. "Hey, he was only trying to help..."

"Stay out of it, Jenny," Serena said coldly. "Sleeping with one of us doesn't mean you're one of us. It doesn't work that way. Just ask your brother."

Chuck and Blair looked at each other.

"Ouch," Chuck hissed.

Blair threw up her hands and turned away. "And they call me the bitch."

But Jenny Humphrey wasn't fifteen anymore.

"Serena, was that supposed to hurt me?" she countered, not even flinching. "I know what all of you think of me, and I couldn't care less. But this war that you're determined to start is childish. In the end, the person who's going to be hurt worst of all is _you. _ Trust me, I've been there."

She stared Serena down.

"You think Blair's so awful? That you're sweetness and light, and she's some she-devil from hell. Yeah, I've watched you over the years, Serena. You've always thought you were so different, so much better. But at least Blair doesn't pretend to be someone she's not. We all know exactly who Blair is, and where she's coming from. But you? You're just like Dan. You can't even _see _yourselves. In your own way, you and my brother are more alike than you can ever know. You're just too blind to see it. I just hope that my niece or nephew, whenever he or she comes, learns to be more honest than you're being right now."

Serena didn't want to hear any more. She couldn't.

Not looking at anyone, Serena rushed to the first town car in the row, opened the door, slammed it...

"Where to, miss? Hudson, right?"

"No," said Serena. "Just start driving. And keep driving until I tell you to stop."

_**Blair**_

The ride back to the Bass penthouse building was fairly uneventful after the excitement of the day. Blair refused to spoil what remained of Eric and Alec's trip with all the unpleasantness that had happened over the weekend, and Chuck had to return several phone calls. So while he was on the phone, she made small talk with Eric and Alec, who didn't seem to be in the best of moods, either. They sat yards apart, and talked mostly to her, not to each other.

It wasn't until they were back on the Upper East Side and just a few blocks away from home, after having dropped off the brooding pair at Lily and Rufus' building, that Chuck was finally off the phone.

"What is it, love?" Blair asked, concerned. She could see the tension in Chuck's shoulders, the crease in his brow.

"Nothing that a quick trip to Monaco this week won't solve. The local authorities are harassing Vittor and his staff. It's been one thing after another, and our bookings are down during the beginning of our prime season."

"We'll go together."

"No," said Chuck, taking her hand in his. "You know you're not supposed to be flying, Blair. I'll give Dad a call and see if he can drop in on his way home from Hong Kong. If not, I'll have to go."

"If you're going, I'm going," said Blair, lacing their fingers together. "This is all because of me. If I have to confront Louis and Sophie, I will. This is getting ridiculous."

She felt awful. It would be all her fault if Bass Industries lost that hotel. Just one more thing for them to worry about.

"You know I don't want you worrying about it," Chuck told her. "Neither does my father. He's going to be furious that I've told you anything."

"Well, you tell me everything. That's what a wife is for. And I know Bart thinks we're all still living in _The Age of Innocence,_" Blair observed. "Women's delicate sensibilities should be protected at all costs."

"What if I tell you I agree with him?" Chuck smirked.

"I'd say I'm not shocked," said Blair. "After all, I know you're convinced it's still 1928, but at least you're a _bit _more progressive than Bart."

"Just a bit."

"It's enough. At least I have the vote."

Smirk. "And since when does my Queen believe in democracy?"

Grin. "Touché, Bass."

When they arrived at their building, the doorman, then the weekend attendant greeted them warmly.

"Good afternoon, Mr. and Mrs. Bass. Mrs. Bass, there's a package here for you."

Blair frowned. "I'm surprised no one from our staff picked it up."

"The instructions were to deliver this directly into your hands, Mrs. Bass," said the attendant. "And yes, Mr. Bass, the package was screened by our security department, although it looks legitimate. It's from a verified sender, but we wanted to be sure."

"Thank you, Carla," said Chuck, taking the envelope from her to hand to Blair. She looked it over as they walked toward the elevator, then entered it as soon as it arrived.

"This is the Royal Seal of the Principality of Monaco," sighed Blair. "I know this stationery well."

As soon as the words escaped her lips, Chuck took it back out of her hands.

"Chuck! That's my mail!"

"It is. So we'll read it later." His arms wound around her. "You've had enough excitement for now."

Her hands cupped his face. "Oh, I wouldn't be too sure about that," she smiled, kissing him.

When they exited the elevator and entered their home, they were greeted with the strangest sight.

Bart, who should have been in Hong Kong, was sitting in their living room.

"Dad?" said Chuck, blinking. "What are you doing here?"

"I... I couldn't leave for Asia before we talked. There's something you need to know about."

"What's going on, Bart?" asked Blair, sitting down on the sofa nearest Bart's chair as Chuck headed across the room. "Is this about Monaco? Or is something going on in Hong Kong?"

"Wait, Blair, let me get Dad something to drink... the usual?" said Chuck, finding a bottle of water for his wife, then going back behind the bar.

"No thanks," said Bart. "I'll just have a little water... sparkling or plain bottled, doesn't matter."

Blair watched her husband and father-in-law. While Chuck was preoccupied, Bart was staring at his son as if he felt he might disappear. Blair couldn't remember ever seeing Bart look like that before.

Something was definitely wrong.

Chuck brought over the water, and then sat beside Blair, taking her hand in his.

"We have much to discuss," said Bart briskly. "I'm hoping that the two of you will be available for a meeting that I have on Friday."

"This Friday?" Blair said. "That's Chuck's birthday."

"Of course," said Bart.

"He doesn't care about that," laughed Chuck. "It's just another business day to him."

Blair shushed him, hand covering his mouth. "_Chuck_."

"It's all right, Blair. I know he's still upset with me because I made the announcement about the baby. I got carried away. It was wrong of me. Just as wrong as the way I've been going about this situation. I was going to run things by you first, Blair..."

"See, this is why Basses don't apologize," Chuck told Blair. "We mess it up, as badly as he's doing right now. It's in the genes..."

"Charles, for once in your life, would you just _listen? _The reason why I wanted to run things by Blair is because of what the meeting this Friday is about."

He paused. Blair could sense that Chuck had gone perfectly still next to her.

Frowning, she asked, "It's about the baby, right?"

"No. I wish it were only that, Blair. We'll meet with the lawyers about my grandchild very soon. This little one of ours will be very well provided for."

Suddenly, Bart's eyes were only for his son. It was as if Blair, as highly as Bart thought of her, was no longer in the room.

"Son, the meeting on Friday is actually an appointment that I must keep with my oncologist. I've had liver cancer for quite some time, but now, they need to do a procedure to shrink the tumors. Apparently, I have to have a relative with me during my treatments, and since Jack passed away last year... that leaves you."

Blair felt numb. The shock and horror she'd felt was even more incredible than the night of the Snowflake Ball senior year, when Lily had rushed over to them as they danced, and told Chuck they needed to go to the hospital before...

Trembling, she looked at Chuck.

His face had gone completely white.

"Charles? Aren't you going to say something?"

"Yeah. _Fuck you."_

Blair, whose eyes were rapidly filling with tears, looked sharply at her husband. "Chuck!"

For once, he ignored her. "How long have you known about this, Dad?" He spat out. "_How long?"_

Bart's eyes closed. As if he was there, but no longer there at the same time.

"I was diagnosed three years ago, back when I was living in Cartagena in the Witness Protection Program. Had surgery. The recovery was hell, but they thought they got it all. Apparently, they were wrong." He looked at them both. "I didn't want to have to tell you."

"Has it spread, Bart?" Blair whispered.

"So far, it's contained in the liver, but it's starting to spread. The only cure is a liver transplant. Chemotherapy doesn't work well, and neither does radiation. So until there's a donor, they're trying to keep a lid on things. They don't want it to metastasize."

Chuck's grip on Blair's hand had tightened, almost as if she was the only thing anchoring him to reality, something she'd grown used to.

"What's your prognosis?" she asked, trying to keep the quaver out of her voice.

"Once it starts metastasizing, six months to a year. If I get the transplant before that happens, there's a sixty to seventy percent chance I'll go into remission."

"Then there's still hope," said Blair firmly. "We're going to beat this, Bart. There's no other option."

"You're your mother's daughter," observed Bart. "You Waldorf women think you can take on anything... Blair, it's _cancer_. You may think you can control everything, but none of us have any power over something like this."

"Bart, we need you. You are _not _going to bail on us now. Not when my husband needs his father, and our child needs his grandfather! We just got you back..."

"It's what he does," Chuck snarled. "Look at him. He's talking about this as if it's a business deal!"

Bart opened his eyes. He just stared at his son.

"Is that it, then? Why you're so worried about me going to Yale with Blair? About your precious legacy? I _knew _there was _something_ to make you finally give a shit about me, a catch of some kind! You _never _gave a fuck, and you still don't! So what are you waiting on? Go ahead and die then. I did just fine for the first twenty-one years of my life without a father, and I'll do just fine without you now!"

"Chuck, stop this!" said Blair, tears running down her face. "Please."

"Son, I won't have you upsetting your wife," said Bart, warningly. "Especially not in her condition."

"YOU'RE THE ONLY ONE UPSETTING HER!" he roared. "You know, I wish you'd never come back! If you were going to die anyway, YOU SHOULD HAVE JUST STAYED DEAD!"

Chuck rose abruptly, dropping Blair's hand, and stormed out. Through a veil of tears, Blair saw Bart watching him go with a frown on his face.

"Well, that went exactly the way I thought it would. Still not winning any 'Father of the Year' awards, am I?"

He looked away from Blair, then into the distance, voice barely audible.

"Still a fuck-up when it comes to your boy, Evie. Please, tell me what I'm supposed to do here. You'd know what to say, he's so damned _stubborn... _he's _you_ all over again..."

But it was all too much for Blair. She went to her father-in-law, and hugged him.

The second she felt his arms close around her, she dissolved into tears.

_**Dan**_

He'd never tell Serena this, but one of the takeaways he'd gotten from befriending Blair was more information about Serena. Before their ill-fated relationship began, Blair freely peppered their conversations with "Serena this" and "Serena that." In fact, the very reason they began hanging out in the first place was because they were trying to get Serena out of trouble...

It was her loyalty to Serena that had drawn him to Blair in the first place.

Everything always came back to Serena.

So thanks to one of those random early conversations with Blair, Dan found Serena near the fountain in Central Park, on her bench under the pavilion. She was writing in a leather-bound journal, seemingly oblivious to the rest of the world around them.

Dan blinked. Sometimes, even when he was with Blair (although he had to ignore it), he had to remember that Serena was a living and breathing person, not a nymph or siren from Greek mythology. Because at times, the girl was too beautiful to be fully human. This was one of those days.

He stood there, watching her. It was early evening, and after a hot, sunny weekend, clouds had largely blocked out the sun. But when it peeked out, his shadow blocked the waning light, and Serena looked up.

"Oh, you're here," she said flatly.

"Yeah, been looking for you all afternoon. Took me a while, but I remembered."

"But this was never one of our..." She trailed off, putting it all together. "Right."

"I'm not thinking about her, Serena. Except I remembered that you came up a lot in our conversations, especially in the beginning. Besides the art galleries and films, _you_ were what we had most in common..."

"Right," Serena repeated. "Back when _she _didn't even believe me when Juliet did what she did. Back when you were the only one who did."

"We both fought for you, Serena," Dan said quietly. "We wanted Juliet and her brother to pay. When you didn't, when you started falling for Ben, I..."

"Dan, I'm sorry, that was a huge mistake, okay? I just felt so guilty about what Mom had done, and I... I'm always fucking up my life." She pulled her knees closer to herself on the bench, and motioned for Dan to sit down. "If I'd just been more like Blair, and got payback against Juliet and Ben instead of letting her off the hook and then actually dating him, maybe none of this would have happened."

"But it wouldn't be you," said Dan. "You always want to try to make things right. That's one of the reasons why I can't stop loving you. Even after we messed things up, you kept trying with me, Blair, and everyone else. And when one of us is in trouble, here comes Serena van der Woodsen, with a Serena plan to make everything OK."

"My plans never work out," she said. "And I seem to remember you derailing a couple of them..."

"Because I was worried. It's my big brother, overly developed sense of responsibility. If something goes wrong, I feel responsible."

"I know. Remember, I'm the oldest, too." Serena frowned. "What Jenny said about us was harsh, but true."

"Yeah, Eric repeated it for me. Jenny's always been a brat..."

"A brat who makes a lot of sense sometimes. She said that neither of us want to admit who we really are." She looked sad and tired. "Do you think that's true?"

"I think... we're writers. So we see the world differently than others. We're also, as we've both said, the firstborn of our star-crossed parents." He placed a hand on her knee. "You know, sometimes I wonder about your dad and my mom. Neither have been very involved in our lives for a long time. I wonder if the only reason fate allowed them to marry Dad and Lily was so that you and I could someday be together without it being completely disgusting. All those years of wasted time."

Serena laughed. "I was so horrified when I found out, Dan. And upset that you didn't tell me about them and Scott. Thought Scott meant that we could never be together, so I turned away."

"Well, it's still going to be uncomfortable to discuss at cocktail parties. The fact that we've chosen to be visible through books and movies doesn't help matters either... but if _Clueless _could enter the cultural zeitgeist back in the 1990s, maybe we'll get a cover story somewhere about the ethics of keeping it within a blended family."

"Dan, you know that sounded completely stomach-turning, right?" she laughed.

"No more so than the lady who was on the cover of _Time _last year who's determined to nurse her kids until they're twelve," he pointed out. "Speaking of kids, do you think we should go find out whether we're going to be having one?"

Serena scrunched her nose a bit, studying his face. "If we are, what do you think we should do, Dan? Seriously, what do you think?"

"I think... we should make sure you have the best pregnancy possible, then welcome our baby into a loving home. We should maybe think about buying a place where the kid's childhood memories will be, maybe splitting the difference between Brooklyn and the Upper East Side, somewhere new. We should work on our friendship as I continue making everything up to you by plying you with my undivided attention and daily doses of pancakes and waffles. With Vermont maple syrup. We should just stay friends until you can trust me again, but you should know there won't be any other girls for me..."

"Seriously?" she asked.

"Until we figure things out, I don't want our kid to see me even glancing at anyone other than their mother. Because I always knew that as happy as my parents seemed growing up, that something was off for Dad. And I don't want anything to be off, Serena..." He squeezed her knee. "At least, not on my end."

"I see. Go on."

"Meanwhile, we're going to write a pilot script that knocks the socks off everyone. And if you let me, I'd be happy to walk the red carpet of your movie premiere, if you'll then do mine. And once our kid's old enough, we'll go spend our summers at your grandma's old Montecito house, the one thing your mother knew you wanted... and we'll walk the beach there."

"But you hate California," Serena pointed out.

"I hate the idea of California. How can I hate a place I've never been?"

She quirked an eyebrow.

"Easily, you're Dan Humphrey. Arbiter of taste and judgment." She dropped her feet to the ground, then stood up, holding out a hand. "Are you ready to learn whether we're actually going to have a baby or not? As long as we're making plans, that is..."

He stood up, and took her hand.

"Lead the way."

_**Chuck**_

Her scent had always been his undoing.

Even in his very earliest memories, his Blair had always been more fragrant than the flowers she so dearly loved. She insisted that they all met on a play date that Eleanor had set up when they were four, but Chuck had gone to a different preschool from the rest and try as he might, couldn't remember it although he pretended to. (Because Blair even remembered what he'd had on, down to the color of his bowtie... "purple, just like your shorts.")

But he did remember walking by her on the first day of kindergarten as their teachers called them up to line up in alphabetical order. She was sitting on the carpet, small chin tucked into her hands as she stared at Nate, who was the second kid called. Chuck, who'd played with Nate all summer in London while their fathers conducted business together, had known he'd be next, so he bounced up to his feet.

She was _so_ pretty in her apple-red dress and headband. _That _was Chuck's first memory of her... the way her glossy brown curls were so _even _behind the band, how big her beautiful dark brown eyes were, how cute the dimples were in her rosy cheeks. Blair Waldorf was by far the prettiest girl in their kindergarten, he decided then and there... far prettier than the Serena girl all the boys were staring at, who in Chuck's opinion looked washed out and watery next to Blair's vivid fire.

When he walked by Blair, he caught a whiff of her hair. _Strawberries_. He wouldn't discover the source of that glorious scent until three years later (they were eight, it was one of her mother's boring soirees, they were watching cartoons in her bedroom, Chuck saw the shampoo bottle). All he knew was that she smelled _delicious_...

Blair looked away from Nate and up to Chuck to see him staring at her, transfixed. Instantly, she frowned, stuck out her tongue, and raspberried him.

He didn't return the favor. Even back then, Chuck adhered to a scorched-earth policy.

Turning around, he pulled down the back of his pants, and...

"_Teacher!" _little Blair screamed as little Chuck mooned her.

Serena gasped, then laughed. Blair burst into tears.

"_Charles Bass!" _the teacher yelled. _"Pull up your pants and come here right now!"_

That was how the Basses met.

Nearly twenty years later, Blair's scent still had the power to make Chuck do crazy things. She'd traded girlish strawberry shampoo for her trademark Chanel, but underneath it all, there was always _her. _

He'd gone to the rooftop terrace after his outburst. (Where else would he go?) Leaning forward slightly, both hands on the terrace wall, he surveyed the cityscape. He needed a drink badly, but he'd promised Blair...

Blair was standing right there next to him, of course. He hadn't been there for three minutes before Blair followed him out. He'd snapped at her for looking at him, said he didn't want to talk... but he'd married an _angel_, and she was saying all these things about hurting when _he _hurt, and...

That _bastard. _Bart always had to ruin things, didn't he? Why couldn't he have just stayed away?

"Chuck," Blair said after letting him stew for a while, hugging herself. "Come back to me." She tried to keep the shiver out of her voice.

"You're always cold," he observed.

"I think the weather's changing. It's been such a hot weekend, but a cold front's coming in now." Her teeth clattered.

Chuck could no longer keep his walls up with her. Only this woman had ever made them tumble down...

He pulled her into his arms.

"It seems that we're not going to catch a break this weekend, are we?" Chuck murmured into her hair. "In hindsight, that boat ride was a terrible idea."

"Maybe we should have had the party inside _my_ graduation present. We could have _so_ done France with everyone... maybe for law school graduation?" She was trying for a lighthearted note that he saw right through. "Seriously, Chuck, please come back inside and talk to him."

"Blair..." His arms tightened around her as he squeezed his eyes shut. "I can't."

"I know. So let him talk to you."

"I don't want to hear anything he has to say."

"Chuck. He needs us. Bart doesn't know how to ask for help, he just pushes everyone away... just like you. Well, I didn't let you push me away, and I'm not going to let Bart do it, either."

"I'm tired, Blair."

"I know, it's been a long day... a long weekend..."

"Not just that. I'm tired of _everything. _I'm so sick of my family issues. It was so simple when my mother was dead and my father was a cold and calculating bastard who judged me. Then he went and let us think he was dead, Jack and Elizabeth played their hands, then Jack helped me with the Thorpes, only to get sick himself. Then Bart came back. Then Jack died.

"Blair, I can't do this anymore. _I can't."_

"I know, my love. I _know._ But you don't have to do it alone. You have me."

"It's not enough, baby. I love you, but this goes beyond you and me. It's why I ruined everything between us over and over and _over _again. It's why I've been so terrified..."

"...of being someone's dad. I know. _I know. _But you're going to be amazing, Chuck. You won't repeat Bart's mistakes. Our kids are going to love you, and know that you love them. They'll be so lucky."

Blair's hands rubbed his back, up and down. Chuck closed his eyes, trying to let her comfort him as she had done so many times. He'd always wanted to be strong for her. To be there for her... but Blair so often had to be strong for _him._

"I love you so much, Chuck. _God, _I love you. Not only will I always be your family, this baby and all the others we're going to have mean that for the rest of your life, you'll never be alone again. And you know, you really don't have a monopoly on past mistakes. I thought our conversation last night clarified that. I told you that I would stand by you through anything, but then, I bailed..."

"I don't blame you for that anymore, Blair," he said, kissing the top of her head, feeling the smooth strands beneath his lips. "I did nothing but hurt you back then."

"That's not true, Chuck, and you know it. Yes, you hurt me, but you also loved me the best way that you knew how. And I know you don't want to hear it, but Bart loves you the same way. He loved your mother so much, and then he lost her. He was terrified of loving anyone like that again, and thought his grief made him weak."

"You've thought a lot about this."

"Of course I have. I told you last year, I'm all in. I'm a Bass now, and we're about to bring a little Bass into the world. I've had a lot of time to think about this. Chuck, your father always had a strange way of showing it, but he really does love you. That's why he was scared to tell you that he was sick. He just wants you to be stronger than he is. He doesn't realize that you already are."

He thought it over. As much as he didn't want to admit it...

"Maybe there's something to what you're saying."

"Translation: 'My wife is right. She's _always_ right. Aren't I lucky to have her?'"

Chuck pulled back, missing the heat of Blair's body, but wanting to look at her. She was _everything_ he ever wanted. Never in a million years did he think he'd ever get her... then, never in a million years did he think he'd ever get her back.

But here she was.

"Fine, I'll go in and talk to Bart. Come with me?"

She shook her head. "You two need some time alone. But I'll be waiting for you when you're done."

He kissed her, savoring her taste. "I won't be long."

Chuck watched Blair leave, meeting her smile as she glanced at him over her shoulder. Once she'd disappeared, he turned back to the half wall, and the city lights.

No, he wasn't going in there yet. He didn't want to lie to Blair, but she just didn't understand this was something he couldn't do. There had been _so much _when Bart had died... so much. So much that he wasn't even sure Blair knew it all... so much he couldn't put it into words...

"Charles?"

Chuck squeezed his eyes shut. It was an old reaction to his father's bark. Even in his earliest memories, he was outwardly defiant while inwardly bracing himself.

Bart came to stand next to him. Chuck was slightly annoyed when giving him the cold shoulder didn't bother him. (But when had it ever?)

"Chuck, I..."

"Dad, look. I'm sorry you're going through this. But you're on your own... I can't go through this with you again."

His father didn't say anything. That made Chuck keep going. (Why couldn't he just shut up around Bart? He was smooth as ice around everyone else except for his father... and his wife.)

"You always thought I was weak. You acted as if my childhood was a junior version of what you went through in Marines basic training camp..."

"Cushy camp, don't you think? With lots of pocket money."

Chuck ignored him. What was the use? Bart was going to think he was a fucking loser no matter what he said.

"Charles, for better or worse, I treated you the way my father always treated me. You have to realize that I was older than your mother, and your grandfather was from a different time. He grew up during the Great Depression and waited until he was older to start his family. And back when I was growing up in the sixties and seventies, it was still the man's job to provide for the family, not to provide warm fuzzies. The nurturing was something that my mother did... that is, until she died having our baby brother, when Jack was little more than a baby himself." He said it matter-of-factly, as if he were giving a weather report. "My dad blew his brains out a year later. I was seventeen and had no parents, no mother, and a four-year-old brother to support. My only option was the military."

"Yeah, I know this story," said Chuck. "You served your country honorably in the Marines, assisted Special Ops with the hostage situation in Iran, and met some rich and powerful people. Won your first million in a high stakes game and bought your first building in what was then an Alphabet City slum. The rest is history..."

"Not quite. I met Evelyn the first time I lost everything, back in '87, right around the time everything happened with Thorpe and my first building. I was living at the YMCA to save cash..."

He trailed off, meeting his son's eyes.

"Not exactly a story you've heard before, is it, Charles?"

"No." The word choked in Chuck's throat.

"Yeah, that was quite a time. Evie was volunteering in a soup kitchen in the building next door... she was a freshman at Princeton, home for the Thanksgiving break, and wanted to be a social worker. She was the most outrageous, idealistic, _breathtaking _woman I'd ever met. Wearing this _loud _purple coat and an even louder purple paisley scarf. She was so young... only eighteen... and so _beautiful..."_

Bart trailed off, the world-famous businessman lost in another place and time, looking at the moonlight as it cast its glow on the city, as if somehow it illuminated the face of his long-dead beloved.

As for Chuck, he was floored. He'd always been so _hungry _for any information about his mother, information that his father refused to share with him. Since his earliest memories, Chuck dreamed about what her voice sounded like... what she would have smelled like as she held him as a toddler or a small child... what would make her laugh or cry. In short, he wanted to know what parts of him, _Chuck, _came from her.

And perhaps, finally he'd learn why his father loved his mother so much that he couldn't be close to his only child... who had the misfortune of looking so much like her.

This was worth more to Chuck than all the money in the world.

"I never knew that you and Mom met on Thanksgiving," Chuck said finally, afraid to speak, worried that Bart would clam up again and take this away from him.

"Your wife's favorite holiday?" said Bart. "I know. It was your mother's favorite, too. She always insisted on spending it in a soup kitchen somewhere. The only time I forbade it was when we'd just learned about _you. _Had to draw the line somewhere, but we did make a donation to her favorite food bank. I think Bass Industries subsidized a good turkey dinner for every poor person in Manhattan that year."

He turned to his son.

"She was generous like you, Charles," he said. "You get that from her. I know what it's like to not know where my next meal's coming from. I've been out in the field, in the Middle East as a soldier, with the supply lines cut off. I could never get Eve to see the value of a dollar, what it was really worth. I've tried to do better with you, but you're her all over again... anyway, after that Thanksgiving dinner, I kept running into her, and eventually I volunteered at the soup kitchen during Christmas. Anonymously. No one knew who I was back then, outside of realtor circles. We started talking. Sometimes, we'd talk all night. And then, that New Year's Eve..." Bart's voice broke. "She was..."

He looked at his father, trying to keep calm. It was difficult. Seeing Bart Bass' mask crack was like seeing the Horsemen of the Apocalypse ride. Chuck wasn't sure if the world was ending or not.

"You don't have to do this, Dad," he muttered.

"She was my true north." Bart continued as if he had not spoken. "There were all kinds of derelicts there; I loathed them because they had neither the dignity nor the decency to better themselves, and were too oblivious of their condition to bother climbing out of their pathetic situations. But my Eve... she _believed_ in them. She dreamed about opening up her own nonprofit to help people who really wanted to get back on their feet. I told her that I was going to be the richest man in New York someday, and although I didn't share her passion for the dregs, I would give her the money to do whatever she wanted to help people. Within reason, of course.

"We shared four and a half years together. They were the best years of my life. She changed me, Chuck. She believed in me. By the time she graduated from Princeton after only three years, I was a wealthy man again, and I married her that summer. She was only twenty-one and I was nearly twice her age, but she was my match. My _exact_ match. Her family wasn't thrilled about me, but neither of us cared. She'd gotten a job with the United Way, but I was building my empire and... we found out about _you._"

Chuck's eyes were closed. "Dad, I'm sorry. I... I'm sorry it was me who's here instead..."

"I'm not sorry about _that_. Every day, I wish I could have had both of you these past twenty-two years. But I have never been sorry that you survived, son. Even when you were at your rebellious worst, I had no regrets."

"Even when I emptied the Bass coffers to pay off Blair's silly contract?"

"Even then. Don't get me wrong, I was furious at first because I thought Blair was toying with you. But you got her back... and thanks to you and Jack, we had the money back _and _all the Grimaldis by the balls by the end of the summer." Chuck smirked, remembering the fun they'd had at that casino in Monte Carlo. "The fact that you would have bankrupted _my_ company so that girl could be free of the Grimaldis still keeps me up some nights."

"If it had been Mom..."

"It wouldn't have been," Bart assured him. "Your mother died before I fully stepped into this world. But for all Blair's ways, she's a fine daughter-in-law and has certainly had a positive influence in your life. Although you were an idiot to let her marry that glorified court jester in the first place, Charles. I couldn't believe it when Jack told me. At least you caught her in the end."

"Did I? Sometimes, I think _I'm _the one who got caught," he muttered, remembering a spring night in Monte Carlo, sparkling eyes, red lips, and soft ivory skin in a glittering orange dress. "After all, I am a Bass."

"You both are now." He laid a hand on Chuck's shoulder. "Look, son, I know this is hard on you. I know you're scared... _I'm _scared. And you're wrong about me wanting to join your mother, you know. If I'd wanted to do that, I would have done what my father did to me, and you would have had neither of us."

Chuck tried to imagine what might have happened if his father _had_ joined his mother, had committed suicide in his grief. Not only would he have been an orphan, he would have likely ended up penniless. With a seventeen year old, coked-out Jack Bass as his only relation...

He pushed the thought out of his mind.

"Rumor has it that our family's cursed. Blair doesn't believe a word of it, but sometimes, I wonder."

"Sometimes, I wonder too. Why do you think a bricklayer's kid made a billion dollars? I figured even the devil could be paid off." Bart looked him over. "But we weren't always cursed. Your great-grandfather, my dad's dad, was a great guy. I don't know that he ever made more than ten or fifteen thousand dollars in his best year, but he was happy. He was a stonemason. I was named after him... and you were too."

"And..." He was afraid to ask, but over the years, he had wondered. "Where did Charles come from? Why did you choose it?"

"Charles was your mother's grandfather. He died when she was very young, but Eve said she was his favorite. He was from Marseilles, and I'm sure you could find out more about him. She said he had a big personality, was generous to a fault, and was passionate about everything. And... he loved purple. Your mother was buried with two things: her wedding set, and his purple scarf."

Chuck couldn't help it. The tears stung his eyes. It had taken his entire lifetime for his father to have this conversation with him, but he appreciated it.

"I... should have saved her rings for you. Blair would've liked them," Bart said awkwardly, misinterpreting his son's silence. "And Old Charles' scarf. Goodness knows it would have suited you."

"You did right," said Chuck. "So tell me. What can we expect during this doctor's visit?"

Bart smiled. "So you'll be there with me."

"Always."

**_~to be continued~_**

**A/N: **Whew, this chapter was such a struggle! Bridge chapters are always hard to write. It was also a very personal one, as several of my close loved ones have succumbed to cancer over the past few years. _Gossip Girl _fandom, and writing fic, has been a place to laugh, grieve, and heal. I've enjoyed meeting so many of you on Twitter; come join us!

Originally, I was going to end the fic here (because graduation is over!), but we still have several loose ends to tie up. Will Jenny "stay or leave" (shouts out to the phenomenal Maribells)? Will Nate ever stop playing musical chairs with his love life, and stick with one girl, or is the answer always "no" when that girl isn't Serena van der Woodsen? Speaking of Serena, is she really pregnant with Dan's kid, or is all this much ado about nothing?

Of course, I'm not going to leave Blair and Serena like this! I love Blerena, it's one of my GG OTPs... so in our last installment, those two lovely ladies _finally_ have the no holds barred conversation they _should have had_ a year ago in this AU. Eric makes his _final_ decision about Alec's proposal. The Basses will get some _very _surprising news on two fronts, and Chuck's birthday will _finally _be acknowledged (and perhaps more than that). And _finally, _Vanessa may have come up with a plan to get the payback she feels she so richly deserves... and brings back one or two characters you may recognize to help her do it. (Occupy Gossip Girl, anyone?)

Next chapter will be the final one! My betas rock SO hard. I'm writing this A/N in the middle of the night less than 48 hours before a major move, and they worked hard (and lost sleep) in order to get this back to me before my Internet service is unplugged. So **DrGG **gets to have Nate Archibald all to herself, and **K **gets Chuck Bass. (Anyone who has a problem with that can take it up with me!)

VIP tickets to Blair's special performance at Victrola (with Chuck pouring the champagne) to the following reviewers at the time of this posting: **aliciasays, NanaAltro, SnowedUnderNJ, LowerCase32, cj, ChrysX, CameronM201, Added **(who just rocks SO hard with the 10,000+ word recap reviews!)**, NotherNight, madetobemrsbass, iheartnywriter, Dede, Elise, Temari's Angel, ebs12, Ri, CBfanhere, NoFate2608, CuriousBlonde, Maryl **(woot!), **lexie, Meg, bonafide11, TriGemini, a.n.n.e.s.t, notoutforawalk, Rf, livelovelaugh9704, Guest, BikerChick101, Sophie, pty, a, Trosev, **and **wrighthangal**.

I've been so floored by the response to this story. All your reviews, favorites, and story follows encourage me to update faster. Let me assure you that I don't take any of it for granted. Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

I'll update between now and when Season 6 starts (because new show canon will just skew this 'verse in my head, and I appreciate completed stories!). Until then...

"**The danger with **_**calling someone's bluff**_** is that even if you win, you risk them walking away from the table for good. And who **_**wants to play with themselves**_**?"**

**XOXO, Dr. Holland**


	8. Forever

**POMP AND CIRCUMSTANCE**

**Summary:** One year after the events of Season 5, it's college graduation day for Nate Archibald, Dan Humphrey... and Blair Waldorf Bass. Serena and Chuck are planning a celebration to remember. Everyone's back in town, including Eric, Jenny, and Vanessa. Even in adulthood, the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite are still scandalous! A Chair centric, post-Dair fic. (AU after 5x19, with a few late season 5 spoilers.)

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing in the Gossip Girl universe, not even (sadly) Chuck or Nate. Major props to Cecily von Ziegesar, the CW, the producers, actors, and crew, and everyone involved with bringing these amazing characters to life.

**Chapter 8 - Forever**

May 19, 2013. Friday after graduation, Chuck's 22nd birthday. New York City.

_**Serena**_

"Maybe I should go to the pharmacy again," said Dan. "There's probably another brand out there we haven't tried."

Serena sighed, plopping down next to him on the sofa in the loft, feeling extremely tired although it was eight o' clock in the morning. "Dan, it's no use. That was the fifth and final test, and we bought one of each kind, remember? I've taken one every day. I'm not pregnant."

Dan, for his part, stared straight ahead. He didn't seem to be registering what she was saying to him. Serena understood what he was feeling. They'd come home that Sunday night, breathless but shy with each other, so careful with their words and actions, not voicing their hopes or fears.

She'd gone to the bathroom to take that first test, expecting to see a plus sign...

But the test was negative. It took three days and three more tests for Serena to accept the fact that she wasn't pregnant after all. She'd even gone to the doctor just to get checked out... perhaps the home pregnancy test kit wasn't picking up on it. But the doctors' tests were negative too...

"That doesn't mean you're not pregnant," Dr. Strauss had told her. "However, given what you've told me about your work schedule and sleeping and eating habits lately, you may just be very late. It's not uncommon for a woman to skip a month during times of extreme stress. So I'd like to wait a few weeks before we resume the Depo-Provera. Until then, I recommend that you use your backup method of contraception."

Serena didn't need any backup contraception. She was keeping her promise not to sleep with Dan Humphrey any more. They'd spent the week writing the pilot script for their proposed television show, and writing the business plan for a small company of their own. Dan had found the perfect name for it... October Eighth Productions, he'd said, looking meaningfully at her.

Yet Serena still slept in what had been Rufus Humphrey's old room, locking her door every night after slipping away from him before whatever movie they were watching ended. Serena knew the comfort of that sofa, the warmth of Dan's arms...

...but ever since graduation, couldn't stop thinking about the fact that he'd held _Blair_ just like he held her.

Some small part of her, a part she didn't want to admit existed after Dan humiliated her yet again with his roses and nonsense for Blair, really wanted to be pregnant. Sure, the timing was awful. She and Dan were friends with benefits. They weren't fixed, and they hadn't talked about anything. But a child would have connected her and Dan for eternity, even if... even if they weren't meant to be. Serena had already seen her in her mind and heart a cute little blond boy with piercing, intelligent dark eyes, and an adorable raven-haired beauty with her own starry blue eyes staring out of a face that was a perfect blend of hers and her first love's.

And... even though she was furious with Blair...

..._that_ would have been something they could have shared together for the rest of their lives. Pregnancy. Becoming mothers. Childbirth. Raising their kids together, celebrating all their milestones with joy. College, marriages, grandchildren. Holidays and vacations and good times. It would have been just like Nate said. Their kids could've all grown up together just like their parents did.

But now everything was a huge mess. She wasn't pregnant. Dan didn't love her, and she wasn't sure if they'd ever be the same. Neither would she and Blair...

"We'll try again."

Serena looked back at Dan. He'd stopped staring into space, and instead was holding her with his eyes almost as if he were afraid to blink, lest she disappear.

"What?" Serena said, not understanding.

"It's not the end of the world. We're young. Time is on our side. And someday, whenever you're ready, we can try again. Whether that's a week, a year, or ten years from now, we'll be okay."

"Dan," she said sadly, "maybe we're trying to rekindle a dead fire that burned out a long time ago. Things happen for a reason. Maybe this is for the best."

"Yeah? Then why do you look exactly the way I feel?"

Serena's eyes began to fill. Dashing away tears, she whispered, "And how's that?"

He closed the distance between them. Took her into his arms whether she wanted him to or not.

"Devastated."

And they mourned the loss of what could have been together.

_**Blair**_

The technician's pager beeped just as Blair laid back on the examining table for her ultrasound. The other woman frowned, then sighed.

"I'm sorry, but it's your doctor, Mrs. Bass. I have to take this. I'll be back in two minutes."

"That's fine, Renee," said Blair. "As long as we're done by ten-thirty so we can get to the oncology unit." Bart was going to have his procedure done then, and they wanted to be at his side.

"Of course." The technician and her pink-and-purple scrubs disappeared out the door.

Chuck, who'd had one hand resting on Blair's thigh while he used the other to scroll through BI email, glanced at her. She was lounging awkwardly in her hospital gown, trying not to panic.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"I don't know. It's just... did you notice how weird Dr. Greene acted today? And now he's calling the tech. What if something's going on with the baby?"

"Nothing is wrong with our baby, Blair. Don't overthink it."

She squeezed his hand. "I know, it's just that sometimes I can't help but worry about everything. This news about Bart was so unexpected. I just don't think I can take any more bad news right now."

"And there will be no bad news," Chuck said, caressing her hand with the ball of his thumb. "Our baby will be fine, and my father's going to come through this with flying colors."

Blair didn't voice all of her fears. Instead she mustered up her brightest smile for Chuck. She knew he had to stay on top of BI business, even if it was his birthday, and there was a lot going on with his wife and father. She was afraid he'd guess her thoughts, but she winked at him, he'd smirked at her, and continued to read email, still holding her hand.

In spite of herself, Blair's tumultuous thoughts rose to the forefront of her consciousness. What if they couldn't find a liver transplant for Bart? What if her eating disorder and Audrey's stillbirth had repercussions for the baby she was carrying?

Ever since graduation, Blair felt... strange. She knew that some of it was grief and sadness over the serious nature of her father-in-law's illness. She'd almost lost Chuck the first time his father "died," and feared having to pick up those pieces again.

She also was _really _tired and _really _hungry. Blair had been researching things frantically all week (but only when Chuck was away from home), and wondered if she had gestational diabetes. But when they were in Dr. Greene's office, she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud, especially when the doc kept listening to her heartbeat, and the baby's, over and over again for nearly ten minutes. Chuck had looked up from his email around minute four of this, and by seven, she could tell he was worried, so she didn't say anything. He was dealing with so much as it was.

Blair knew that she was the glue that held the tenuous bond of the Bass family together. She needed to be strong for her husband and father-in-law, and the last thing she needed was for there to be any complications with her pregnancy. It would have been too much for any of them to take.

So when Renee reappeared with Dr. Greene following her in, Blair's heart leaped to her throat. She felt as if she was leaving her body, becoming numb...

"Mr. and Mrs. Bass, I'd like to check something that I'm starting to suspect. I could run some tests, but at this point, I can confirm via ultrasound. May I?"

Blair looked at Chuck, who'd dropped his phone, and was now pale as a ghost. His grip on her hand was almost punishing before he had to let her go when she shifted positions on the examining lounge. She flashed him a reassuring look, but she knew he could tell it was forced.

So she quit the act, and blurted out, "Dr. Greene, is there something wrong?"

"Not necessarily wrong, but there is something that I suspect. I can't believe I missed it before, but you weren't quite so far along. This is your first visit of the second trimester, yes? Fourteen or fifteen weeks?"

"Yes," Blair said matter-of-factly. "So what do you want to do?"

"I'd like to conduct your ultrasound. May I?"

"By all means," she said.

The older doctor quickly donned gloves and picked up the transducer probe. Blair now knew, from other examinations and her first pregnancy, that the gel would be warmed up, not cold, but it surprised her every time.

She looked over at Chuck as he stood up next to the bed. His smile didn't quite reach his eyes.

Soon, four pairs of eyes were looking at the images on the screen. Renee turned up the volume...

"Do you see it, Renee?" said the doctor. Renee nodded with a smile, but Chuck and Blair were most entranced by the sounds coming from the speaker.

"Sounds fast for a heartbeat," said Chuck. "Is that normal?"

Dr. Greene broke into a half smile. "Perfectly normal for this kind of pregnancy. See, there's the first head..." he pointed at the spot, and they could see it.

"Oh my God! Chuck..." Blair's dark eyes shone up at her husband, who dropped a kiss on top of her head. "That's so... _amazing!"_

"_You're_ amazing," he assured her, kissing her lips quickly. "What a birthday present."

But Dr. Greene had another surprise in store for the couple.

"I have even more amazing news than that for you, Mr. and Mrs. Bass. If you look closely, just there, although they're trying to hide from us... _there's another little head behind the first one."_

Blair's eyes and mouth went completely round.

"Oh, my GOD! Our baby has _two heads?_"

Renee and Dr. Greene couldn't help it. They both laughed.

Neither Chuck nor Blair were amused. Blair's eyes filled with tears, and Chuck looked furious.

"I don't see what's so funny," snapped Chuck. "Care to let us in on your little joke?"

"Congratulations, Mr. and Mrs. Bass," said Dr. Greene, "you're having twins!"

Chuck and Blair didn't react at first. They just _froze._

Chuck, not being the one on the table wearing thin, sterile linen, recovered his powers of speech first.

"Run that by us again?"

"Your wife is pregnant with twins, Mr. Bass. I suspected during her last visit, but when she told me about the extreme fatigue and I heard their heartbeats, I knew the ultrasound would confirm it. And it has!"

Chuck's eyes said it all as he drank in the sight of Blair, who was still in shock. "It's only nine-thirty and this is already the best birthday of my life."

At his words, Blair's features softened into a little smile, which he leaned over to kiss. "I love you too."

Dr. Greene was elated. "Perhaps we can muster up another present for you, Mr. Bass... do you want to know if you're having boys, girls, or one of each?"

Blair was shaking her head slowly. "I thought we couldn't know that until weeks eighteen through twenty-six?" she chirped, sounding like the pregnancy books and websites they'd been poring over for months.

"The technology is improving, and you're further along than I initially suspected. So if you'd like to know, we can tell you now. The first baby's genitals are quite clear, and I think Renee can help me take a look at the other if we move our instrument to the other side here."

Blair was still wary. She glanced at Chuck, then back at her doctor.

"Seriously. They _really_ have two separate bodies? Two _separate _heads, four _different _arms, four _unique _legs... not all joined together?"

"If you want to know if they're conjoined, Mrs. Bass, the answer is no. Their heart rates are normal and everything looks fine. Here, I'll show you what you're looking at..."

As the doctor explained, Blair breathed an audible sigh of relief. Chuck's smirk turned into a genuine grin as he looked at her, trying not to laugh at her antics. Blair felt bathed and surrounded by her husband's genuine love for her. She was overwhelmed by the knowledge that she was carrying not only one of her beloved's offspring, but _two_. According to Dr. Greene, she had two healthy, wonderful babies growing within her, perfectly normal for their stage of development.

_Mom's going to faint when we tell her, _Blair thought with satisfaction. _I'll have to prepare myself for her remarks about my figure. But my dads will be excited and so will Nate and Ser..._

_Oh, well. I'm going to have my S back soon enough. Chuck's given me a great idea, he's my perfect scheming partner always. And I can't wait to see the look on Bart's face when he hears that I'm not just giving the Basses a single heir, but the start of our Bassian army._

"Congratulations, Mrs. Bass, Mr. Bass," chortled Renee. "I know this must be big news for you..."

"It's wonderful news," Chuck corrected him. "We couldn't be more pleased by it."

"Great! So Mama and Papa, are you ready to hear whether you're having boys, girls, or one of each?"

"Bring it on," Blair said euphorically.

Less than an hour later, a fully dressed, fully clothed Blair walked into Bart's hospital room beaming, followed closely by Chuck, who looked as if he'd swallowed a star. In spite of himself, the famous businessman's stony expression cracked into something approaching pleasant.

"Happy birthday, son."

Chuck grinned. "You know, I can't remember the last time you said that to me. Thanks."

"Well, last year this time, so much was going on that I didn't get the chance. And before that..." He paused, looking over at Blair as he turned away from the past to consider the future. "What did the doctor say?"

"Bart," she said, sitting in the chair next to her father-in-law's bed. "Chuck and I have some good news."

He raised an eyebrow.

"We're having twins!" she said, pulling out one of the sonogram photos for Bart to see. "One of the babies is a boy for sure! They could tell right away! Usually at this stage, their little wee-wee isn't as prominent..."

"Obviously he takes after his father," said Chuck smugly.

Blair shot him a look as Bart raised his free hand slowly to take the photo from her. "And they're pretty certain that the other baby's a girl although she was being prim and proper today..."

"Sounds just like her mother," her husband drawled, "that is, before she danced for me that night at Victrola..."

His wife glared at him, then turned to see her father-in-law was now subdued.

"Bart, what's wrong?"

Bart's reaction wasn't exactly what they expected.

"What's wrong? Blair, twenty-two years ago today my wife died trying to have _one _baby. My mother also died in childbirth. And now, you're telling me you're going to have _two?"_

Chuck, standing next to Blair with a hand on her shoulder, visibly swallowed the lump in his throat. Blair wished that she could hold him tightly, comfort him in the way that only she could. Yet she knew that her presence was enough.

She took the sonogram photo away from Bart and handed it back to Chuck. (Knowing her husband, he'd have copies made for his desk, her dresser, and the new locket before the end of the day.)

"Dad, things are different these days," Chuck said, reverting for a moment into the young boy who desperately wanted his father's approval. "Modern medicine has taken away a lot of the risk. You said yourself that you couldn't remember the last time anyone in the family had a daughter. Dr. Greene says..."

"Forget what Dr. Greene says. There's no way you're going to be able to give birth normally, Blair. This changes everything. You'll have to have a C-section, which..."

"...is something that I'm not going to discuss right now with my father-in-law!" said Blair, not wishing to rehearse old demons just an hour after she'd received the news of a lifetime. "Bart, there's no need for you to become an expert in obstetrics or gynecology. I'm going to deliver a healthy baby boy and girl in November, just in time for you to get your clean bill of health. Now, no more of this."

Blair knew that Bart was going to say something else, but there was a limit to how ferocious he would be while clad in a hospital gown, an IV stuck into his hand. Especially since he was tremendously fond of his daughter-in-law... and Blair knew it. (If there was one thing that Blair Waldorf Bass was extremely good at, it was getting her way when it came to boys and men. Even Bart Bass, so formidable in the business world, was no match for a girl who had three fathers, all of whom adored her... not to mention the Gordian knots she'd twisted his only son into when they were only sixteen.)

"We're here for you, Dad," Chuck said. "We'll be here until the procedure starts, then we'll wait. We'll be here when you wake up."

Bart looked at his son, then his daughter-in-law expressionlessly. Then his eyes traveled to the ceiling, and closed.

"I don't know what I'll do when you two move to New Haven," said Bart. "Chuck, have you put any more thought into the fact that I am asking you to accept your admission?"

"Yes, actually," Chuck drawled slowly, "I have. Blair and I have been discussing it all week. And... we agree that I should go to college."

Bart's eyes opened, wide with surprise.

"Well, that was easy." His eyes darted over to Blair. "I'm curious about what you promised him, unless it's something a father shouldn't know."

Blair, in spite of herself, laughed. "That sounds like something Jack would have said, Bart. You Bass men are more alike than you'd like to admit!"

"Anyway," said Chuck, cutting his eyes dangerously at Blair. He still had issues over her past dealings with Jack, even though they'd all been on good terms during the last year of Jack's life. "I'm going to college, Dad, but not in New Haven."

"Ah, so you'll commute from New Brunswick. Or have you called Wharton after all?"

Blair shook her head. "No. We're both going back to Columbia."

The business magnate frowned. "Columbia? Why there? I thought Yale was your family's school, Blair. Your father, grandfather, and great-grandfather went there."

"Yes, they did," said Blair. "_Waldorfs_, each and every one of them. Waldorfs and Vanderbilts go to Yale, just like Archibalds go to Dartmouth, and Kennedys go to Harvard. But it has yet to be determined where _Basses_ go... and as Chuck and I were talking, we decided that perhaps _we _should be the ones who get to decide that."

Chuck glanced at her gratefully. "Dad, you talked a lot about the legacy you wanted for our family. I think that our university should be Columbia, not Yale. You've made sizable donations to the school, and so have I. Blair's now a member of their alumni. The Bass family is based in New York. You and Mom grew up in the outer boroughs, and the two of us grew up in Manhattan. There's only one Ivy League school in this city, and it's one that our family already has ties with. I even looked into taking classes there."

"But your admission is for Yale," Bart pointed out. "Not Columbia."

"Yes, and we brought the letter along when we had dinner with Dean Reuther on Wednesday," Blair told him. "I think we just may have talked her into admitting Chuck into their sophomore class this fall..."

"...No easy feat," Chuck said. His eyes and Blair's met as they remembered the events from a few years ago, the takedown of Juliet Sharpe, and the steamy night they spent together afterward.

That night, she'd felt like his bride in every way, although she had to wait nearly two more years before she was his truly. Sometimes, Blair wished that things had been different, and that she and Chuck had gotten it right earlier. That line of thought invariably ended when Blair would realize that she wouldn't change a thing... because somehow, everything she and Chuck had endured before their forever brought them to the happiness they lived every day.

Bart still wasn't satisfied. "What about law school, Blair? Chuck has been saying all year that Yale was your dream."

"Yes, Yale _was _my dream, Bart. But Chuck _is _my dream come true. Columbia was your son's gift to me when we weren't even together... I don't think you know this, but when I was miserable at NYU, Chuck loved me enough to send in an application on my behalf. He gave me a school that was truly perfect for me, and that really did everything to ensure that I graduated on time. I loved my classes, and I wished that I'd begun there. But I would've never had the courage to apply for a transfer after everything that happened my senior year.

"When we had dinner with her earlier this week, Dean Reuther put me in touch with the dean of the law school. He isn't guaranteeing a spot next fall, but with my grades, LSATs, and shall we say, my _unique _biography, he did a lot of winking and nodding that I could hear even over the phone. We've invited him over for dinner next week."

"Sounds promising," Bart deliberated thoughtfully. "Perhaps one of their lecture halls hasn't been renovated in a few years? I'm sure Bass Industries would be interested in such a project."

Chuck was studying his father's face. "So you think it's a good idea?"

"A _very _good idea, Chuck," said Bart, turning it over in his quick mind. "One of the best you've had lately. So you'll both go to Columbia, you for business and Blair for law, and in another eighteen years, little Charles Jr. and Charlotte will walk around a Columbia campus filled with the Bass name... lecture halls, labs, an amphitheatre..."

"Oh, no," Blair said. "We are _not _naming the babies after Chuck. Or me, for that matter. That's _so_ tacky and petit-bourgeoisie. Our children need to have their own names."

"I was thinking about naming the boy Cary," Chuck explained. "Cary Bartholomew, after me and you. But Blair says it's a girl's name."

"I get why you like it, Chuck," Blair said. "You've always had such an affinity for the leading men of the silver screen. And I like the idea of Cary. Our first daughter w-was... you know we used Audrey for her name. But I don't want him teased. You just don't understand how ignorant of classic Hollywood film the average American is..."

"Basses aren't average," asserted Bart, closing his eyes again. "We're extraordinary."

_**Jenny**_

It so happened that Jenny Humphrey didn't exactly leave for London on time. After she arrived home in Hudson after the boat ride, she stayed. It was almost as if she needed a pause, an interlude after everything that had happened during her brother's graduation weekend.

To people in Manhattan, Hudson might as well be on another planet. But Jenny had grown to love the small riverside village, especially the artsy gayborhood that her mother's home studio was located in. During the year she'd lived here and gone to the local high school, Jenny learned the names and faces of their neighbors, gone often to the shops to get this or that, walked alongside the river or sat and sketched in the waterfront park.

The day was particularly fine, so Alison had suggested a picnic. Jenny, who'd been holed up in her room working on Blair's clambake dress (or would be when, not if, Blair selected it), wasn't particular about going at first.

"Jenny, you've been hunched over that machine all week," her mother sighed. "I know all about what it's like for a project to consume you. But you're looking pale. Come on, I've got all these great strawberries from the co-op garden, some fresh cream, and I've made some sandwiches."

"No waffles?" Jenny teased, slowing down the rate of her stitching, but not stopping.

"Ha, very funny. You know that's your father and brother who believe in eating breakfast griddle fare and chili for every meal. Up here, we don't have to pretend that everything needs to be drowned in maple syrup."

Jenny grinned. "That's men for you. They expect you to cater to their every whim..."

"Men," said Alison slowly. "So is that why you decided not to go back to London, even after I begged you before Dan's graduation to stay for a while?"

That made Jenny stop sewing. Suddenly, what she'd been trying to ignore all week had popped back up right before her eyes, at the forefront of her consciousness.

"Oh, Mom. I screwed up. _Again."_

"What?" said Alison, confused. Then a look of horror crossed her face. "It's not..."

"Oh my God, _no,"_ said Jenny. "Not at all. You know, Chuck and I finally had a conversation about what happened all those years ago. And we came to the conclusion that getting drunk and high and feeling sorry for ourselves one sad night doesn't mean that we should be awkward forever."

"All the same, Jenny..."

"Mom, Chuck was a different person as a teenager. He's grown and changed. So have I. He's part of Lily's family, and Lily's my stepmother. He's always been in love with Blair, and now, they're married and starting a family. So I think we've agreed to be civil. All of us."

"Thank God," said Alison. "You're still so young. I worry about you."

"_Mom,"_ snapped Jenny, feeling very insulted. "I'm in my twenties now."

"You're _twenty_," said Alison. "And you weren't making great choices back when you were living with your father, although I do blame Rufus for much of what happened. We should have never encouraged you to go to school on the Upper East Side with your brother. So much of that was your father's idea... and now that he's back with Lily, sometimes I wonder about his motives there." Jenny saw her mother shake that train of thought off; Alison wasn't big on revenge and resentment. "I'm just glad that we can close that chapter of your life."

Jenny thought about closing the Upper East Side chapter of her life. She remembered the social hierarchy, how exciting it was to be chosen, how exhilarating it was to be on top, how crushing each and every one of her falls were. She remembered going toe to toe with Manhattan's reigning society princess, being pawed and smarmed over by one of the richest teens in the world, and eventually falling for a golden boy who someday might give JFK Jr. a run for his money (but hopefully with a much longer lifespan!). She remembered working her fingers to the bone, first for Eleanor, then for her own line...

_But that was all so long ago._

That's when the events of the weekend flashed through her mind. Breakfast with Dan. Running into Nate with Vanessa. Sitting at Dan's graduation, critiquing the fashion on display at Yankee Stadium. Racing over to Columbia's graduation with Dan and Serena, then her encounter with Jenny. Riding in the Bass chopper and bantering with Bart Bass of all people. Running into Nate and Serena before dinner, and their random "blond power" bonding moment. Then there was dinner, and all the fireworks with Vanessa... the Black Keys and Adele concert... and catching up with Eric.

The rest of the night. Nate's challenge, promise, and dare all rolled into one: "Come find me." Sleeping, then Dan waking her up to help with Serena. Watching over the sleeping Nate, dreaming up the dress she'd been obsessively working on all week. Playing "quote the sea movie" with him, then... talking... and making out. Her heated confession... and then...

And then...

Well, Jenny refused to think about it. Nate let her get into that town car at the docks, and she hadn't heard a peep from him all week, not even a text message. Which is exactly the way she wanted it, she told herself a hundred times each day...

_Jenny Humphrey, you're a liar. Keep deluding yourself._

_Shut up._

"Yeah, I know what you mean," said Jenny, hoping that she sounded bored enough with the topic. Maybe then her mother would leave her alone.

No such luck. Alison was more astute than that.

"But there's something keeping you here, isn't there? Or... someone?"

Jenny shrugged. "Mom, don't be ridiculous. I told you I'm staying for a while because Blair's invited me to her clambake. If this dress is a hit, it could open many doors for me."

"What if she doesn't choose it?" said Alison. Dan and Jenny's mother had heard stories about Blair Waldorf over the years, most of them not good. Blair and Dan never got to the "meet the parents" stage, so Alison never had reason to be around the society girl. Jenny knew that Alison was wary of Blair at best.

"If she doesn't like it, then _I'll _alter it and wear it myself. At any rate, someone's going to photograph it, and I'll be able to use that for my portfolio."

Alison nodded. "Smart girl. Well, I'm going downstairs to finish our picnic basket. See you in ten?"

"Half hour?"

"Fifteen minutes..."

"Twenty."

"Don't push your luck."

Jenny met her grin. She and Alison had their issues over the years, but she was definitely her mother's daughter. Jenny only wished that Dan and Alison had a closer relationship, but that was really Dan's choice. Jenny could relate; she and her dad Rufus had certainly bumped heads over the years.

Jenny went back to what she was doing, letting the hum of the machine comfort her as the silver thread disappeared and reappeared in the delicate fabric. So much of life didn't really make sense to her, but textiles? They just did. She'd given up her sewing during junior year when she was being Lily Bass Humphrey's stepdaughter; she swore she'd never do so again.

No matter how jumbled up her thoughts were.

She had no idea how much time had passed when she heard her mother's voice.

"Hey, Jen? I'm headed out to the store to grab some celery for the tuna salad... you have a visitor. Shall I send 'em up?"

"Sure," said Jenny, thinking it was one of the girls from the local high school. She'd seen a few of them over the week she'd been in town. Jenny had been well liked, seen as sophisticated and otherworldly by the upstate New York girls, and now that she lived in London, they all wanted to chat about the latest styles.

But the person who appeared in the open doorway of her bedroom wasn't a girl from Hudson. Far from it.

When Jenny looked up into Nate Archibald's blue eyes, she nearly sewed her finger... something she hadn't done since she was _eleven. _As it was, she'd ruined the pattern and would have to pick out the thread later.

Not that she was complaining, of course. Or thinking about the existence of the dress at all.

"Hey," he said quietly. "Your mom said it was okay for me to come up."

"It is," said Jenny. (_Why is your voice shaking, Jennifer? Woman up._) "Sit down."

Well, she didn't think that one through. Since she currently occupied the one chair in her room, the only place for Nate to sit was on her bed. And he chose to sit on the side that was nearest her desk, so close that they were less than a foot apart.

_Nicely played, Archibald, _Jenny thought as his newly familiar, tantalizing scent invaded all of her senses.

_Don't you dare turn around! You cannot encourage him, girl. Be strong... you really don't want to ride that rollercoaster again..._

_Oh, hon. The _wrong _thing to do is to remind me about _that _particular ride._

_Anyway. Here goes nothing..._

"Nate, I..."

"What are you working on?" said Nate, peering over her shoulder at the garment.

"It's a... dress that Blair wants to look at," Jenny whispered, losing her voice the minute his hand curved around her upper arm. "I thought I'd stay here and finish it."

His lips were now millimeters away from her ear. "When I heard you hadn't gone to London, I thought you would be in the city. With your dad, or with Dan."

"I... needed to spend some time with my mother." She turned her head, out of curiosity to see how close he was... and they bumped noses. _Wow. That close._

"I missed you this week."

"What, don't rich people have cell phone service anymore? You couldn't text me? What happened to your fingers?"

_Why did you say that, Jenny? Oh, no..._

"What happened to my fingers?" repeated Nate, using them to trace a line down the side of her face, then her neck, "Well, my _fingers _decided to give you a break when I heard you weren't going to London after all. My _fingers_ thought they'd wait until the clambake to try again, after Blair told me you'd be there. But Jenny..."

_Oh, holy _shit! she thought as his fingers reached her collarbone.

"...my _fingers_ couldn't wait that long. And neither could the rest of me."

And his fingers... his _hand... _curved around her breast, cupped it through the t-shirt she was wearing, at the same time that his lips pressed into her temple.

Jenny wanted to point out that the door was open, her mother would be home soon, that it was crazy for him to feel her up in one of her childhood bedrooms. She opened her mouth to tell him one of these things, but the only sound that escaped was a strangled cry.

"Nate," she breathed, "I can't do this. I won't."

In response, he drew her out of the chair, pulled her to sit on his lap.

"Yes, you can. And you will. If you didn't want me, Jenny, you would've gone back to London and not come back until the clambake. Tell me you didn't come here just so that I could chase you..."

She blinked. "I wouldn't do that!"

_Another lie, Jenny. Keep going, you're really in fine form this afternoon._

"Yes, you would. Especially if you didn't believe that I really liked you."

"Nate, you can't tell me you've been alone all week," snapped Jenny. "You're the Blair Waldorf of society boys... you don't know how not to be in a relationship. Did Vanessa come back? Did you fly Lola into town? Or what about that old British lady who Dan told me was pretending to be Chuck's mom? Or..."

"Or none of them. Just me... thinking about you... and remembering you and me, together, on my boat." He swept her hair away from her ear, and pressed a kiss behind it. "It's all I've thought about since I got back, Jen. I've never felt like this before."

Jenny shifted on his lap, feeling uncomfortable and self-conscious. "Nate, you don't have to lie to make me feel better..."

"I wouldn't come all the way up to Hudson to lie to you," he said frankly. "There are too many girls on the Upper East Side for me to do that. But I don't want any of them... I want _you_. I want to see where this goes."

"No," said Jenny firmly. "It can't go anywhere."

"Why not?"

"Because you're fucking Nate Archibald, that's why not," snapped Jenny impatiently. "What, am I supposed to date you, then when things get serious, get shot down by your mother and grandfather because my blood isn't blue enough? Are you going to introduce me when you dine at the palace with the Queen? Leave me to chit-chat with Duchess Kate while you, Will, and Harry go hunting?"

"So you _have _thought about us being together," Nate observed. "My grandfather didn't have a problem with Vanessa when we were dating. I don't think he'd mind me dating Lily Bass' stepdaughter."

"But your mother would," Jenny pointed out.

Nate let out a deep breath. "Yeah, but my mother has a problem with anybody I date who isn't Blair or another girl from old money. She can't stop me from caring about who I want to care about, Jenny. Not after everything that happened to my father."

"Nate, it's not the life I want to live," she said. "Not even for a little while. I mean, someday... one day, I think you're going to go into politics..."

His blue eyes flashed. "No, I won't! My grandfather wants me to, but I don't..."

"You don't know what you want out of life yet, Nate," Jenny told him. In spite of herself, her own fingers traveled up to his lips to trace them. "You're the proverbial prince who's skeptical about the inheritance... remember _Ever After?"_

"Nah! I didn't see that girly movie."

Jenny looked up at him through half-hooded eyes. "Please, I know Blair or Serena dragged you guys to it when you were little. It's the one with Drew Barrymore."

"So maybe I did see it. Yeah, and?"

"You're just like Henry was in that story. And it's just like Drew's character said. 'A bird may love a fish, but where would they live?' You're the bird, Nate. I'm the fish. You need to find another bird..."

"Wait," he stopped her. "Didn't they get together, and live happily 'ever after'?"

"Yeah, but that's not the point."

"That's exactly the point, Jenny."

He held her closer, so that her head rested on his chest. Closing her eyes, she could hear the beating of his heart (_kinda fast, isn't it?)._

"Nate," she murmured, "life is not a fairy tale. Maybe it is when you're William Vanderbilt's grandson, but not when you're Jenny Humphrey. I've worked for everything I've gotten... I wouldn't even know how to be what you need."

"You don't need to know anything for that," said Nate. "You _are_ what I need, Jenny."

"It's just sex, Nate," she replied. "Good sex that will burn out in a matter of a few more tumbles..."

"So now you're this sexpert all of a sudden," Nate laughed. "Trust me, Jen, we have a lot more ground to cover before we even finish your first class."

And beneath her hips, she could feel him start to get very, very aroused.

"We're two different people!"

"Who are actually kinda _good_ for each other. You're sexy and funny and _fearless... _a little wild and crazy... and smart about people. That's who you are to me, Jenny. And I _want _you."

"What about me?" she breathed, as he lowered her to her bedspread, then went to close her door. (Goosebumps stood up on her arms when she heard the lock click.) "Who are _you _to me, Nate Archibald, besides a whole lot of trouble?"

He walked slowly over to the bed, lazily pulling off his t-shirt as he went. _Dear sweet... for the love of all that's... oh, my... _She couldn't even put together her thoughts anymore!

"I'm your dream come true," he rasped, covering her without warning, making short work of her t-shirt, fumbling at the button of her jeans. "I'm the fairy tale."

_Oh, fuck it. You've lost this one, Jenny Humphrey._

_Maybe not..._

"Okay," she murmured, threading her fingers through his hair as his mouth found her collarbone. "On one condition. Two, actually."

He raised his head. "What's that?"

"We're friends with benefits, nothing more. You need to spend at _least _six months without a girlfriend, if not longer, before I could believe you're ready to be serious about... about you and me."

Nate frowned. "But I don't want you seeing anyone else."

"Well, 'friends with benefits' means we're not exclusive," she said. (Although good Lord, did she ever plan to be exclusive with him. And how... starting in the few minutes they had before her mother got back from the store.) "Exclusivity is for people in relationships, and we're not going to be in a relationship, Nate."

His face told her that he completely disagreed with her words, and planned to convince her otherwise. "What else?"

"I don't want to be in that Empire penthouse," she said. "The last time I was there I came looking for you, and you _know _what happened. And you're _not _spending the night with me here, or at Lily's, or with my stupid brother. So you'd better find a good location for our... our _thing_... and not just your boat."

She could tell that his mind was racing, even as he started playing with her breasts through the thin lace of her bra. _Good, _Jenny's mind thought as her body responded to his touch. As many differences as she and Blair had over the years, she knew that they were united in their loathing for that place.

"Sounds like we have a deal," Nate said, working on the clasp of her bra.

"Yeah," sighed Jenny with pleasure as she felt the air hit her bared breasts and ruched nipples as he discarded the offending undergarment. "Oh, and Nate? _Nate?"_

For he seemed suddenly mesmerized by the sight of her. "Huh?" he mumbled, tearing his gaze back to her eyes.

"You'd better not fall in love with me," she warned him smilelessly. "Because I'm _never_ going to fall for you again. My body and my head are in two different places right now. We'll see where this goes, and when it ends, we'll still be friends."

"Whatever you say, Cinderella," he groaned, plunging back to the task at hand.

And, for the next while, Jenny Humphrey found Nate Archibald quite charming indeed.

_**Eric**_

Like many New Yorkers, Eric van der Woodsen always felt as if nothing cleared his head like a good walk. That Friday, he found his mother and stepfather's cheerful company cloying. Dan was holed up in the Brooklyn loft (making up for lost time with Serena, probably), and Jenny was still in Hudson (hiding from whatever obviously happened between her and Nate, he supposed). So instead of eating another forkful of Rufus' waffles, he begged off, saying that he was going to stroll through the park to clear his head.

This late in the morning, there were fewer walkers and runners (although there were still some). Instead, nannies pushed prams, and mothers strolled together as their preschool aged children ran ahead.

Central Park was in full spring bloom, but Eric was oblivious to its beauty. He hadn't heard from Alec all week. When they'd arrived back at Chuck and Blair's later that evening, Dorota informed them that "Mister Chuck and Mrs. Blair" had gone to bed early. When Alec requested the use of another guest room (much to Eric's surprise), she informed them that "Mister Bass" was also staying over.

"If you need anything, Mister Eric, please let Ricardo know," said Dorota, picking up her handbag. "I will see you in the morning."

As soon as the elevator doors closed, Eric turned to face a stonefaced Alec, whose arms were crossed.

"I am not sleeping with you tonight, Eric."

"Well, I don't want to sleep with you, either," he snapped back, growing very angry. "But I'm not going to wake up my brother's butler and make the man turn down another bed..."

"Then I'll sleep right here!" Alec exclaimed, storming over to the living room sofa and plunging down onto it.

When he awoke the morning after the boat ride, Alec was gone. He wanted to mention it to the family, but Bart, Chuck, and Blair were subdued at breakfast. This was usual for Eric's former stepfather, but Chuck usually wasn't so reticent around him, and Blair was never, ever quiet. But that day, Chuck pored over the _Wall Street Journal _as if it were the most interesting read in the world, Bart read through a stack of reports as he picked through his fruit, and Blair seemed to be concentrating on her berries and oatmeal. None of them seemed to register the fact that Alec was missing without explanation.

"Alright, who died?" said Eric, trying to break the mood. But apparently, that was the wrong thing to say.

"Eric," Blair chided him. "I'd appreciate it if you'd refrain from being crude at _my_ table."

"I wasn't," he said. "I was just..."

"Making a pathetic attempt at a joke? Don't quit your day job," Chuck snarled. "Wait, that's right, you don't have one."

Eric looked from his brother to his sister-in-law. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen them so... well, like the way they used to be.

"God, I'm sorry," Eric muttered.

Bart's cobalt blue eyes bored into him. "Don't you have somewhere you should be right now?" he asked.

"Um, yeah... I guess I do. If you'll excuse me..."

No one said anything as he left. Eric took that as his cue to grab his suitcase and make his way back to his mother's house.

When the engraved invitation arrived a few days after from Blair to join her in wishing Chuck a happy twenty-second birthday, Eric nearly threw it into the fireplace. Chuck and Blair had really been there for him over the years. Chuck had been one of the first people in the world he'd come out to, and he'd always seen Blair as another big sister before she became a part of their family through marriage. But he really could've used a friend to talk to during the biggest fight that he and his boyfriend had ever had.

He did reach Jenny once, on Wednesday in Hudson.

"Hi Eric," she said. Eric felt so relieved to hear his stepsister's voice on the phone. "How are things going?"

"Terrible," he blurted. "Alec and I had a huge fight."

"That sucks. Well, maybe it's better that it happened now, E. You don't want to get sucked in too deep by some pretty boy who makes love to you, fills your head with lies, and then leaves you alone."

Eric frowned. "Um, are we still talking about me? Or you?"

"Hey, Eric? Someone's calling me. Gotta go. Bye."

"Jenny, wait..."

His response from her was a click, and then a dial tone.

Eric had even ventured out to Brooklyn the day before to have dinner and watch _Il Mare _with Dan and Serena. Dan at least wasn't an asshole or indifferent when he called. He chatted with Eric about the progress he and Serena were making, then noted the movies that neither had seen yet.

After a bellyful of Humphrey chili (which Eric had to admit was pretty good), he settled down with the pair to watch the Korean version of _The Lake House, _which he'd seen the year before his suicide attempt. (At the time, he had a crush on Keanu Reeves that he was terrified to discuss with anyone. Gorgeous guy, but no acting skills.)

Towards the emotional end of the movie, when the lovers finally were together on the screen, Serena emitted a choked cry. Dan froze and Eric's eyes darted over to his sister. She stared back at them both, her blue eyes awash with tears, but bravely holding them in.

Then the dam broke. Serena ran to the bathroom and slammed the door. Eric could hear her loud sobs on the other side.

Dan looked miserable, but at a loss about what to do. Eric thought he'd try lightening the mood...

"Darn those pregnancy hormones, huh?"

That's when Dan shot Eric the meanest glare he'd ever seen from a Humphrey.

"You know, Eric, why don't you go home? Movie's over." From his tone, Eric knew that it wasn't a suggestion. He complied, but Dan clearly didn't spare him another thought, as he turned the knob of the bathroom door, and disappeared.

So by Friday morning, Eric felt completely out of sorts. He was definitely hoping that the fresh air would make him feel better.

"Well, well. Who do we have here?"

_This is what I get for not looking where I'm going, _Eric thought as he looked up into a familiar, smirking face.

"Carter Baizen. I should ask you the same thing," said Eric. "I thought the Basses banned you from Manhattan."

"Come now, Eric. Island's big enough for all of us to play."

"Yeah, but rumor had it that you were last seen 'playing' on an oil rig. How'd that work out for you?"

Carter shrugged. "I did my time, paid the debt for my crime... at least in the eyes of the Buckleys. Now I'm back, and wondering if your sister is still as beautiful as she was four years ago."

"What's it to you?"

"Oh, I think Serena will be interested in my answer to that question," he said. "Where's she living these days?"

"In Brooklyn," said Eric, then went to twist the knife. "With her boyfriend, whose baby she's having."

"Baby, huh?" Carter didn't seem phased at all. "Which one's the dad? That pathetic Archibald who's been pining after her since birth, or that poor guy from Brooklyn who's also her stepbrother?"

"Stepbro... I mean, poor guy from Brooklyn." Eric tried to gloss over Dan and Serena's sticky relationship status. "I'll have you know that she's completely happy with him, so going to see her would be a waste of your time..."

"Nice try, van der Woodsen," snarked Carter. "Next time, don't try so hard. Tell your sister I'll be seeing her beautiful face soon."

He sauntered off, and Eric watched him go.

"Baizen, _never _a pleasure," he murmured under his breath, problems with Alec temporarily forgotten. When Carter was in town, Serena always went a little crazy. (Wait, Serena was _always _a little crazy.)

Time to alert the troops.

_**Chuck**_

The cigar lounge on the Upper West Side wasn't one of Chuck Bass' usual haunts. Then again, neither was it a place one often found European royalty. It wasn't exactly outer borough in its ambiance, but the neat Scotch he'd ordered was more midmarket than Glenfidditch, and the cigar more North Carolina than Havana.

All the same, it was neutral ground, and for this particular meeting, it would do.

"Charles," said Louis in his garbled accent. "I expected to see Blair."

"Now, why would I bring my pregnant wife to a den filled with tobacco smoke?" he drawled. "I think you've seen enough of Blair. Your dealings, as well as your mother's, will be with me and _only _me from this point forward."

"The letter was very clear," Louis snapped. "My mother wanted to meet directly with _my _ex-wife."

"Oh, I read what Sophie wrote," Chuck said smoothly. "Which is why I had Eugenia call you and set up this meeting."

"And exactly what is the purpose of this meeting?"

"Patience, Grimaldi."

Chuck dragged on his cigar a bit. He hadn't indulged in tobacco this cheap since he was a teen. The taste wasn't the best, but the mellow feeling that it produced mingled with the whiskey was nice. He hadn't been drinking or smoking at all lately, and wouldn't after this necessary inconvenience, but he'd take it for all it was worth.

Meanwhile, Louis' lit cigar smoldered in the ashtray and his drink remained untouched. Chuck noted the differences between the two of them. Louis was only a few years older than him, but when it came to waiting, he was like a small child. He remembered what Bart had told him long ago about royalty overseas and old money over here in the United States. _They're so used to everyone falling down backwards over their asses that they'll always show their hand. Every time. All you have to do is wait._

Finally, Louis could take no more.

"Charles, if you do not return Blair's dowry immediately, we _will _shut down your Monte Carlo hotel."

Chuck didn't say anything. Instead, he dragged on the cigar again, and stared at the young prince.

"Go on. What other demands do you... I mean, your _mother_ have for us?"

Louis sat up a bit straighter, and tried to look very severe. Chuck had to stop himself from laughing.

"Blair will issue a public apology to the kingdom for the embarrassment that her rash actions caused. In turn, we will bestow upon her one of our titles used for divorcees, and she will be restored to our peerage, although at a lesser rank."

"Oh? This is getting _very _interesting. Do continue."

"Finally, Blair will grant me an annulment in the Catholic Church, so that I may remarry and continue my family's line in spite of her."

"Finally. So those are your three demands... correction, those are _Sophie's _three demands, I take it?"

"They are... er, they are demands from _both _of us."

Chuck had been reclining easily in the leather chair across a low, black marble table from Louis. Now he straightened up, leaned forward, set down his tumbler, and snuffed out the end of his cigar. He didn't even look at Louis until he was completely done.

Once he was, he regarded Louis. The look on Chuck's face _petrified _the prince.

"Well, Louis, here is my response. As you were so kind to _itemize _your demands for me, I will do the same for you. First, it will be a cold day in hell before you get a single dime from the Bass fortune, from Waldorf Designs, or from the Waldorf-Rose family. Second, if you continue to harass my employees in Monte Carlo or elsewhere, your lackeys will find it _extremely _difficult to continue in their current capacity. It _will _be _very_ hazardous to their financial well-being and career prospects wherever they find themselves on the globe.

"Number three: if you, your mother, or anyone associated with the House of Grimaldi _dares _to contact my wife, any member of our family, or even _breathe_ the same air as Blair does, _ever again, _I will _destroy _you. By the time I am done, Monaco will be a republic, you will be waiting tables at a bistro, and your precious mother will be a fucking _streetwalker. _And when I own Monte Carlo, I will sell all of your precious royal treasures for _scrap, _and will auction the rest off for a single _dollar._

"Be sure to tell your mother that from me, Grimaldi. Also tell her that her attempt to lard her coffers with the fortune of an American heiress in exchange for a kingdom a fraction of the size of the one that Blair is already queen of... has failed."

Chuck said all this in his typical nonchalant tone, without any emotion, anger, or upset. But Louis was sputtering and redfaced when he was done.

"I _loved _'er!"

"No, you did _not. Maybe _you were infatuated with her, I'll give you that much. The only one who you fucking _love _is that mother of yours. Good luck getting an heir for your 'kingdom' out of her."

Chuck stood up, throwing a stack of bills on the table.

"Grimaldi, this drink's on me. I hear you're having a cash flow problem. Hope it continues. In fact, I think I'll make it my personal business to make sure that it does."

And without sparing the European prince another glance, Chuck sauntered out of the lounge.

_**Dan**_

At the first ring of the phone, Dan opened his eyes. When the first thing he saw was Serena's golden hair and bare, tanned shoulders, he was confused about whether he was still dreaming or awake. Serena hadn't touched him since the morning of his graduation...

...until that afternoon. After sharing their grief and sadness over there not being a baby, they'd kissed, which led to more kissing, then one thing led to another, and...

They'd ended up back _here, _in bed together. Making love until they were exhausted, then napping in each other's arms. Memories flooding his mind, Dan's lips pressed against Serena's hairline. She beamed in her sleep, but slept on...

...as the phone was still ringing. Dan snatched it up. His eyes widened at the name that flashed there. Disentangling himself from Serena, he picked it up, mumbled "one sec," slid back into his boxers, and padded out into the living room.

"Blair," he said, keeping his voice down. "You're the last person I expected to hear from."

"Yes, well, obviously today is a great day for you, Humphrey. I'm calling because I need a favor."

Dan's eyes narrowed. "I thought you and I weren't in the business of doing each other favors any more."

"We aren't. I wouldn't call unless this weren't an emergency. I need Serena."

"What? I thought you two weren't speaking to each other."

"We aren't, genius. She isn't returning any of my calls, which is why I had to resort to contacting _you."_

She didn't need to be so nasty about it, Dan thought. Blair acted as if they were never friends, let alone anything more. For the first time in many years, he felt completely annoyed by her, and not in a good way at all.

"Um, does Chuck know you're calling me?"

"Excuse me? What are you trying to say?"

"I'm not trying to say anything, Blair. It was less than a week ago when your husband gave me a black eye."

"Well, turnabout's fair play. You've certainly thrown quite a few punches his way over the years," Blair said matter-of-factly.

"Which _he _deserved." Dan couldn't _believe _that he'd ever fallen for Blair Waldorf. What a piece of work she was, he thought.

"Oh, as if you didn't deserve yours, Dan. You've ruined things between Serena and me, so now you're going to help me fix them. And I'll have you know that Chuck is the one who suggested that I call you. He isn't the jealous type, unlike some people I know. There's nothing more unattractive than an insecure man..."

"Okay," Dan cut her off. "I mean, you actually do want my help, don't you?"

"I do. So here's what you do, Humphrey: make sure you get Serena to Lily's by 7 pm today. That won't be too hard for you, will it?"

"Why?"

"Oh, I have something for her that will solve all of our problems. Then... I _guess _you can stay with her for Chuck's birthday party, since you'll already be there."

Dan rolled his eyes. "Gee, thanks. My life is now complete."

"Of course, if you ruin my husband's night, I will make that _complete _life of yours a living hell. Let bygones be bygones, Dan. We're done with college, and childhood, and all that. It's time for new beginnings."

"Look, Blair," said Dan impatiently, "I haven't had a single thought about you since you showed me your true colors. And before that, I only wanted closure. You and I were done before we even began... in fact, we should have never begun."

"Well, that's one thing we can agree on, Humphrey. And I've always been me... my 'true colors' are all the things about me you chose to ignore... things _my _Chuck loves about me... just as much as I love him..."

"Okay," groaned Dan, deciding that he was going to erase Blair out of his contacts after this. "I'll get Serena to her mother's in two hours, and you can take it from there. Bye."

"Why are we going to my mother's?"

Serena had just come out of his bedroom. As was her habit, she'd wrapped his sheet around her lithe, curvy body. Her sleepy smile let him know that she'd only heard the last part of his phone conversation.

Dan grinned at her. "Lily wants your opinion about a new color scheme for the living room, and says the decorator can only meet right at 7. Some famous lady..."

"Oh, did she finally get on Simone de la Cortes' calendar?" she exclaimed, closing the distance between the two of them. "Of course I'll go... but only if you come with me."

Dan wrapped his arms around her as their lips met. He'd fill Lily in on the plan later.

"There's no place I'd rather be. I need a shower... or do you want to go first?"

"I have a better idea. Why take turns?"

And the sheet dropped as she grabbed his hand, pulling him toward the bathroom.

_**Vanessa**_

"So what's the scoop?" said Vanessa, sliding into the seat opposite her former classmate.

Georgina Sparks' enormous eyes narrowed conspiratorially. "Blair's hosting a birthday party for Chuck. I can't believe how _soft _she's made him. The Chuck Bass I knew didn't do birthdays."

"Right. But there's no way we can get in."

"When there's a will, there's a way," Georgina said patiently. Vanessa could read the look of barely veiled contempt for her on the wealthy, slightly unbalanced woman's face: _Abrams, you're such an amateur. _Well, there was a lot on Vanessa's mind, especially that week. Georgina could either help her on her mission, or she could go kick rocks.

"Great. By the way, thanks for getting me out of that jam in upstate New York."

"Yeah, I must say that I was shocked to get that direct message on Twitter." She snorted. "I thought everyone from your little group had me blocked."

_I did, until I convinced that bumbling upstate guard to let me use his phone for my one call, and I unblocked you. _"I'm good for the bail, too. Once again, I really appreciate it."

"No big. We all have our days. Just know that you owe me, k?"

Vanessa didn't want to think about the kind of favor Georgina would ask in return. "Fine, whatever I can do."

Georgina eyed her. Then she dropped her gaze significantly.

"Oh, hon, I think you've already done _everything _that needs to be done. The only thing I wish is that I could take down that smug, awful Blair somehow... but she's got Chuck locked down. No chance at getting near _him _again..." She trailed off, and her face looked as if she were truly regretting letting a certain Bass off her hook back in middle school. "Anyway, I'll have to settle for her getting smacked by the fallout from the bomb you're going to drop tonight... do you know just how huge this is, Abrams?"

"Yeah, literally and figuratively," said Vanessa quietly. She'd been trying to put it out of her mind, but her mind and her body weren't cooperating.

"Don't look so glum, my friend," Georgina chirped. "Your life is now _made._ How better to get your revenge on the Basses than from being on the inside?"

Shrug. "I'm not on the inside, remember? I never was, and I never wanted to be."

Georgina appraised the girl from Brooklyn once more. A slow, wicked smirk spread over her features.

"Until now. Oh, what a difference a week makes! Let's make sure that Bass birthday party is one they'll never forget."

_**Blair**_

Maternity clothing wasn't something that Blair thought she'd ever get used to... even if the designer was Marchesa. Still, she thought the empire waist dress in deep purple was exquisite, and noted with pleasure how well it matched the bowtie she'd wrapped around her husband's neck a few hours earlier, right before he went to deal with Louis Grimaldi.

"I still want to have words with Sophie Grimaldi myself," she'd told him, adjusting the bow between her fingertips. "Seriously, Chuck, I could strangle her... and throttle Louis for being such a pathetic wimp."

"Sheathe your claws, kitten," he'd cajoled, pressing his hot mouth to her always eager one. "In time, all of our enemies will be beneath my queen's dainty feet, to deal with at her leisure."

"Of course they will, just look at the king who rules by my side," she managed to whisper before he lengthened their kiss. "_Chuck_... you don't want to leave my wormy ex waiting too long, now do you?"

"Actually, that's _exactly _what I want to do. He can begin his squirming before I arrive. I guarantee you that I will ensure it continues for quite some time to come. I always like to toy with my prey before I... Blair?" He cocked an eyebrow at her blissful, dreamy stare.

"Hm? Oh, I'm sorry, love, you lost me when you said 'come.'"

He'd chuckled, and his lips found his favorite spot on her neck.

"Insatiable little minx," Chuck whispered, trailing a damnably attractive hand up her thigh. "Don't worry, after this evening's festivities, I will regale you with all the details of Louis' takedown, and _then _you will indeed get lost as we give new meaning to the word 'come.'"

"Promise?" she teased.

Oh, how she _loved _her man.

Now she was looking critically at her reflection in the full-length mirrors of the van der Woodsen-Humphrey guest suite. She was glad to have her Chuck and Lily on her side, and Dan had been cooperative, too. All that mattered was that she and Serena would soon be friends again, ready to embark on this motherhood journey together.

(Of course, she _did _feel a little sorry for Serena. After all, her children would be Basses, and would have Chuck as their Dad. Poor S was carrying a _Humphrey. _Even during the worst of her time in Brooklyn, when she thought she and Chuck would never be together again, she _never _would have mingled her precious genes with DUMBO.)

Her phone rang, and she chatted with the caterer about last-minute details for the intimate strolling dinner that evening. All too soon, she heard Lily's voice, "Hi Serena... no, the decorator was delayed, but there are swatches in the guest room... here, Dan, won't you help your dad with the drinks?"

Blair steeled herself. She would never, ever admit it, but she hated it when she and Serena fought. Serena was more than a sister to her. She was a part of her, as much as Chuck was even before they fell in love, as much as Nate was. They were meant to go through their entire lives, being together, helping one another... the Upper East Side's answer to the Fantastic Four. It was best when they were all on good terms.

Serena came to the doorway and froze. Her eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Hey, Mom, I don't think purple's in this season. In fact, I think it's _tacky."_

"Serena," said Blair, very slowly. "Please talk to me."

"Why should I? It's clear to me that we're not friends, Blair. Maybe we never were."

In spite of herself, Blair's eyes filled with tears. (Damn pregnancy hormones.) "Don't say things you don't mean."

"You can't, Blair! You just can't jerk me around and expect it to be OK..."

"I know, it's not OK. What I did, what I said, none of it is OK. I... I should have been more patient with you. I know everything's so complicated with you and Dan, and I... I shouldn't have let things go as far as they did."

"You've already apologized," snapped Serena.

"I have. I told you I was sorry a year ago. But I never told you that I was _wrong_. And I was, Serena. I was such a bitch about Louis, then about Dan. You've always been there for me, and you supported me and Chuck being together when few people did. And I repaid that by getting in between you and your true love.

"I know nothing I do or say can make up for what Dan and I did to you," here Blair's tears spilled over, although she refused to cry (her eyes were just watering, she told herself, fucking hormones), "but all I can say is this. Serena, I love you. _I love you. _And I'm so happy that you and I are both having our babies at the same time. I think it's a sign... so I bought you something... I hope you don't think it's silly, but I..."

She pointed to the king-sized bed. On it were three exquisite white baskets, filled with personalized things for a baby's first days: receiving blankets, undershirts, booties, and cloth diapers. All monogrammed, two of the sets with B's, the others with H's.

"S, Chuck and I are having twins. I wanted... I wanted you to be the first to know, after Bart. Not even Mother or Daddy or my stepdads or Lily know it yet. And your baby and mine are going to be together, from now on... we're having a little boy and a little girl... can you imagine how much fun we're going to have? And no matter what, Chuck and I are going to support whatever choice you make about... S, what's wrong?"

For she'd never seen the look on Serena's face. Serena had gone from enraged to softening at Blair's apology, to...

"Oh, B," Serena said, very sadly. "I'm not pregnant."

"Not pregnant? But I thought..."

And the cry that came from Serena's throat cut her to the heart. Blair acted instantly. _Okay, babies, we're gonna have to comfort Auntie S, she's really upset right now. _Drawing Serena to the bed, she hugged her tightly as her best friend sobbed.

"I... I know the timing's so bad for me... and everything with Dan is so _complicated... _and we're all so young... but after I pretended it wasn't true, I wanted it _so badly... _I wanted to have his child..."

Blair kissed the top of Serena's golden head. "And you will someday, S. Maybe next year, maybe years from now... but you will."

Sob. "I-I wanted... everything that you said, B. I wanted to be a new mommy with you." She wiped her face, laughing dryly. "You're so bossy, I know you'd fuss at me about the vitamins and birthing classes..."

"I'd do more than fuss," Blair assured her. "I was going to draw up a daily schedule for you... and your iPhone _was _going to be programmed with alerts. Still will, whenever your time comes. This is my first niece or nephew, I'm not leaving him or her to the whims of a van der Woodsen!"

They both laughed.

"I love you, B. And I'm sorry about the stuff I said. I wouldn't trade you for the world. Even when you were at your selfish worst, you still tried to be there for me. And whenever I spiraled out of control, even the very last time, you always came to find me."

She tried to squeeze, but Blair patted her arm. "Careful, there! One of us is still pregnant. So... are things better with you and Dan?"

"Yeah," Serena said, a little shyly. "I think we're going to try to work on us while we work on sharing this project. I... I mean, I know what we have is different from you and Chuck, you're perfect for each other, but..."

"I have no idea why people always want to compare me and Chuck with the rest of you mere mortals," blinked Blair. "What Chuck and I have works for us. Our love suits us because we're _us. _That's why he didn't work with Eva or Raina, and I didn't work with Louis, Dan, Nate, or anyone else. And there was a time, not long ago, when everyone who's admiring our marriage and saying how _perfect _we are were thinking that we were totally crazy and that we needed to get as far from each other as possible! Right?"

Serena wiped her eyes and nodded. "Right."

"You and Dan are... you and Dan, I guess." Blair let out a deep, exasperated breath. "You always were. I'm starting to think that whenever someone comes back to the same person, time and again, either they need to cut them out of their life completely... or they need to realize that maybe there's a reason they can't shake them. Some people are just made and meant for us, Serena. Chuck's the one for me... and maybe what's happening is that you're starting to see that Dan is the one for you. If so, I hope he sees that too... even if you deserve _much _better."

"I know, but that goes doubly for me. After all, you actually _married _that horrible brother of mine," Serena laughed, then hugged her again, her slender, long-fingered hand resting on Blair's midsection. "Oh, my God, B, you really do have your baby bump now! I can't believe you and Chuck are having twins! Watch out, world! Here come the terrible two! The Upper East Side will never be the same again!"

"Don't you say that about my kids!" Blair laughed, then sobered. "Maybe it's a good thing that we're not pregnant at the same time. Do you know how enormous women carrying twins can get? I'm going to need all the help I can get."

"Blair, my brother's a billionaire. Hire a nanny. Or two. Or a dozen."

"I will not! I wasn't when I only thought I was having one, and I'm not going to do it now. Chuck and I can handle it."

"Whatever," said Serena, and Blair knew that her best friend was on Team Chuck when it came to Bass childcare. (Fine! She would take them _both _on_. _She'd done it plenty of times before.) "So tell me all about what the doctor said..."

_**Nate**_

"I forgot how much I hate playing Monopoly with Chuck," Nate complained, taking a swig of his beer, an arm around Jenny's shoulders.

The strolling dinner for Chuck's birthday had been a resounding success, as were all of Blair's events. The exclusive guest list was limited to only twenty-two people, which included a few top people at Bass Industries (who Chuck told Nate had been crowing for _weeks _after being tapped by Blair), a few of the young celebrities that socialized with their crowd, and their closest friends and family. Blair had asked that people not send any gifts, but of course, some didn't comply. The side table was crowded with cards and wrapped boxes, including a gilded envelope from an old friend of Chuck's, Prince Harry, with a centuries-old bottle of the finest Scotch.

Hours later, most of the guests had left except for the inner crowd, who were playing the game of Bassopoly that someone had sent as a gift. Soon, Chuck had multiple hotels up on the most expensive parts of the board, and was busily collecting rent from the rest of them. This was nothing new; Chuck was always the best of the Non-Judging Breakfast Club at most games, including cards, chess, or board games. (Chuck explained the reason to Nate years ago: "Most people don't pay attention. With the father I had, I had to pay attention to _everything. _I had to always think several moves ahead.")

"Yeah, this isn't fun anymore," said Eric, tossing the dice. "We roll, and then we give Chuck our fake cash. I'd rather play charades than this, and I _hate _charades."

"Oh, stop whining, people," said Blair, leaning against her husband. "Chuck bankrupted me first, and you don't see _me _complaining."

"Which is a totally new development," laughed Nate. "I don't think I'll ever forget you screaming about how much Chuck cheated while we were growing up, Blair."

"Speaking of new developments..." Blair purred, eyes darting from Nate to Jenny significantly.

"Come on, Blair," Serena snapped smilelessly, "_that _isn't exactly new."

"Yeah, at this point, I think we've exhausted every possible dating option among this group, considering the fact that some of us are blood relatives, and all of us are straight," observed Dan from the open kitchen, grabbing a few beer bottles after Chuck cleaned him out as well. "Someday, the musical chairs have got to stop."

"Well, some of us have already bowed out of that particular game, Humphrey," said Chuck, accepting $250 in cash from Eric, who'd landed on a square where he had five houses. "Allow me to recommend the pleasures of marriage... although, there's only one Blair. I feel sorry for the rest of you gentlemen. After all, I _do _always win the prize."

"Aren't you the lucky one, Bass," Blair beamed, kissing him.

"Man, not everyone wants to get married at twenty-one," Nate snorted. "Some of us are still sowing our wild oats..."

"Oh, so is that what you're doing with my sister?"

Dan had brought over beers for himself, Serena, Nate, and Jenny. He hovered above where Nate sat cross-legged on the rug, a challenging, questioning look in his eyes.

"Never a dull moment," Chuck said to Blair, rolling the dice.

"I know, that's the reason why I keep them around," Blair replied, clearly enjoying the show.

Jenny was glaring at her brother.

"Look, let me make something clear. I get that when I was last in this room, I was a fucking crazy sixteen year old. That was then, this is now. I'm just as much of an adult as anyone else here. Therefore, it's none of your business what I do with Nate Archibald, Krusty the Clown, Santa Claus, or anyone else. And that goes doubly for you, Dan Humphrey, who's seen _three_ of the women in this room in their..."

"Okay, who wants cake and ice cream?" Serena interrupted, jumping to her feet. "Jenny, come help me with the bowls, _please..._ thanks!"

"But we're still playing the game!" protested Eric.

"Whatever," his older sister replied. "Chuck won."

"Of course I win. I remain undefeated," said Chuck, collecting all the money in triumph while Blair folded the board, practically glowing with pride.

(It was moments like those that Nate wondered how he _ever _thought that he and Blair worked as a couple, even if they were just kids back in those days. Just then, Chuck and Blair were in full Pinky and the Brain mode... Nate half expected them to rub their hands together and emit an evil laugh. _Muwhahahahaha! _And the devils were now _spawning_...)

Nate shook his head, accepting a conciliatory cold beer from Dan. The two men strolled over to the window.

"Seriously, man. What's going on with you and Jen?" Dan asked.

"I mean..." Nate said slowly, "...I think I'm falling for her. What can I say? She wants to keep things casual, but..."

"You don't."

Nate stared out at the cityscape. "No. I don't."

"Well, I can't think of a better guy for my baby sister, now that she's actually old enough to date you. And you know that if you hurt her, Dad and I..."

"I won't hurt her," Nate said quietly. "I've dated a lot of girls over the years. Jenny's special."

"Yeah, so is Serena. I think we might be okay, finally."

Nate looked at him. "Do I even need to say it?"

"No, I think I've got it. Take care of my ex and childhood friend, if not, death and destruction will rain down upon my head."

"You've got it." Nate took a swig of his beer. "Just seems right, you know? Everything's falling into place."

Ever afterward, Nate believed that his words conjured up the ding of the elevator. Nate and Dan turned around to see who was there...

"Georgina?" said Chuck.

"Vanessa?" said Dan.

"_Carter?" _said Serena.

"Well, if it isn't a trifecta of 'you weren't invited,'" said Blair, eyes narrowed. "_This _is why I hesitated before having the party here... someone, hand me my phone so I can have them thrown out."

"Not so fast, Mrs. Bass," Carter drawled, strolling into the room as Nate, Dan, and Chuck moved forward. "I was on my way to see if Serena remembered what she promised me before she left, when I ran into these two ladies. They were on their way to the _Post, _but out of the goodness of my heart..."

"What heart?" snapped Nate.

Carter's lips curled up into a snarl at his former protégé. "...I convinced them to come here first. Perhaps when you hear what they have to say, you'll change your tune."

"I don't want to hear anything you have to say, Vanessa," Nate told her, coming to stand next to Jenny, taking her hand in his. "It's over. Especially if you're running around with the likes of Georgina Sparks..."

"The likes of her? Nate, your friends tortured me all day, had me arrested, and you didn't spare me a second thought before you started sleeping with Jenny Humphrey. You are the very _worst _kind of manwhore, because even a slutty girl has more integrity than you do..."

"Now, wait a minute, Vanessa!" shouted Jenny. "You don't get to come in here and start shouting accusations!"

"Actually, she does," said Georgina, looking very much like the cat who swallowed the canary. "Oh, this is going to be _good."_

Serena impatiently regarded her former friend. "Alright, fine, Georgina, say whatever melodramatic thing you're going to say, and then all of you can just _leave. _That goes doubly for you, Carter. Eric called and told me you were in town already, so save it. It's been a long time, and I haven't heard a word from you. As you can see, I've moved on."

Carter's eyes darkened at the sight of her. The smirk faded from his face.

"Aw, beautiful, I came back to New York just to see you. I don't believe for a second you didn't miss me."

"I guarantee my _fist_ won't miss your face," said Dan, taking a step forward.

"Humphrey, _stop,_" Chuck interrupted. "That piece of scum isn't worth it. By the way, Baizen, I meant it when I said the travel agency was closed. The next time I toss you out of Manhattan, it won't be on a plush airliner."

"So what's so important, Vanessa Abrams?" asked Blair. "What, did you dig up some dirt on one of us? Are you and Georgina going to sell your story to the highest bidder? Be my guest, you'll need the cash when we take your asses to court..."

"I'm pregnant."

It took a moment for what Vanessa said to register. When it did, the tense atmosphere in the room instantly upgraded from outraged to _oh, shit!_

There was complete silence. Painful, utter silence.

Then everyone talked at once.

"Oh, my effing God!" gasped Blair.

"Nate, I didn't want you to find out like this," implored Vanessa.

"You did it on purpose!" raged Jenny.

"Wow, was _not_ expecting that," intoned Dan.

"What, you don't know how birth control works?" snarked Serena.

"Oh, this is _priceless," _gloated Georgina.

"Best birthday ever, eh, Bass?" smarmed Carter.

"Fuck you, Baizen," snapped Chuck.

Then all eyes fell on Nate, who suddenly felt as if the ground under his feet had turned to Jell-O.

"Whoa," he said, feeling as if his voice was far, far away from him. "So you're pregnant. And I'm the..."

"Yes, you're the father, you bastard," Vanessa said angrily. "There's been no one else."

Nate's head swam. From somewhere far away, although she was standing right next to him, he heard Jenny scream, "Nate, what's wrong?"

And then all went black. Blissfully, thankfully black.

_**Chuck**_

The sleek black limousine pulled up to the Bass building on Park Avenue just as Chuck finished his call. He was going to open the door, but Arthur was too quick, as usual.

"Mr. Bass, what time tomorrow morning?"

Chuck looked at the calendar on his phone, then shook his head.

"I'll call, Arthur. Text Eugenia and tell her to cancel my morning appointments. I'll follow up in the morning, then let you know when I need to get back to the hospital."

He strolled into his building (doorman: "Good evening, Mr. Bass"), walked into the lobby (attendant: "Good evening, Mr. Bass;" security guard: "Good evening, Mr. Bass."), and made it to the elevator. (Thank goodness there was a card system here instead of an attendant for most of the residences in the building; for theirs, he had a voice and handprint recognition system installed.)

The elevator soundlessly and smoothly glided to the top floor. As soon as the doors opened, there was Blair, clad in a white silk nightgown and robe, her long brown curls falling over one shoulder. Her phone was still in her hand.

"Thanks for keeping me company on the ride home," he said, taking off his suit jacket, then striding over to her.

"Of course. Thank God for modern technology, huh?" She patted the space next to her on the sofa. "We missed you. Come here."

Soon, he was reclining comfortably, tie off and collar loosened, Blair in his arms. As much as he enjoyed all parts of his life with her, one of his favorites was holding her. _She is my peace, _he thought.

"How's your dad?" Blair asked softly.

"Resting, but out of it... you know how good hospital pharmaceuticals are. I'll go back to see him when he wakes up in the morning."

"I'll go with you. Wish I could have been there tonight, but your kids wanted Mommy to nap." His hands caressed her baby bump, and her small hands rested on his. "Demanding little ones..."

"They're true Basses," said Chuck contentedly. "They have every right to be demanding. Just like their mother... nothing but the best."

"I suppose." She took his hand in hers to kiss. "And Nate?"

"He's fine, no concussion. The doctor gave him some Tylenol-3 and sent him home. I dropped him off at the Palace, along with Jenny Humphrey. Said he refused to go back to the Empire, it's cursed." They both chuckled knowingly. Many were the times that Blair made similar comments, but as long as it was profitable, Chuck was reluctant to let it go.

"Well, I had Georgina and Carter thrown out on their asses after you left," Blair told him. "I just had Vanessa escorted out, since she's knocked up with our best friend's kid."

"She may go to the media," he pointed out.

"Let her..."

"No, no. You don't understand. The last thing Nate's grandfather will want is a scandal. Now that Tripp's disgraced, Nate's the Vanderbilt heir, the grandson he's pinning all of his hopes on. William will do whatever it takes to appease Vanessa."

Blair clucked her tongue. "And here, love, I thought you knew women. Vanessa's angry and hurt. She wants revenge..."

"Yes, but she also still wants Nate. Now that there's a child coming... she's got him."

That caused Blair to crane her neck so that she could look at Chuck. A frown creased her brow.

"How on earth has she 'got him,' Chuck? Nate's dating Jenny now. That seemed clear to me. And he never seemed all that into Vanessa, if you ask me."

"It doesn't matter who he's dating," Chuck said slowly. "If Vanessa gives birth to that child, she'll be Mrs. Nate Archibald long before her delivery date."

"Chuck..."

"_Blair. _Come now, let's be honest here. Families like yours and Nate's don't do bastards. Families like mine might, at least before now, but _not _the Vanderbilts. There's far too much at stake."

Blair gasped. "Oh, my God. Poor Nate. And... poor Little J. That's terrible." Then she got a wicked look on her face. "Unless..."

"Unless?"

"Well, Chuck, there are marriages... and there are _marriages_. Just because he might have to marry Vanessa now doesn't mean that he and Jenny can't..."

"Stay out of it," he ordered. "I mean it, Blair. Nate may be our best friend, but I don't think he'd thank us for meddling and scheming this time. It's too serious."

"I know. I also know that he hasn't been like he is with Jenny with anyone since me and Serena... and we were kids back then. I have plans for that girl, Chuck, plans that include her being the Karl Lagerfeld of the Waldorf fashion house once Mom retires. And I don't need her depressed and sad over this situation!"

"Should've known your sudden concern over the well-being of Jenny Humphrey benefitted _you _somehow," he laughed. "That's my girl. But," he was serious again, "that's enough about that. I told Nate we'd have brunch with them tomorrow."

"Good. He needs all the support he can get." She sighed. "I'm so glad that I have my Serena back. I just hate that she's not pregnant. But she says she and Dan are back together again. He was great help getting S to Lily's, but he's such a _Humphrey... _Chuck, what was I _thinking?"_

"Just plead temporary insanity, Blair," said Chuck, not really wanting to revisit their turbulent past. Especially when their future was so bright. "Besides, now that Baizen's back, I think he's going to give Humphrey a run for his money."

"I thought you didn't like Carter _or _Dan," said Blair.

"Can't stand either of them. In fact, I think my sister is _only _attracted to men who piss me off..."

"There was Nate, though."

"Oh, I've given up on _that,_" said Chuck. "Fucking Humphreys and Abramses and Carter Fucking Baizen, ruining our plans for Non-Judging Breakfast Club world domination."

Blair giggled. "Well, Chuck, tell me how you really feel."

"I hate that damn loser. And it's been five years, but I can _still _hear you saying 'having the time of my life'..."

"Still hot under the collar about it, are you?" Blair was amused.

Chuck wasn't. "About every man you've ever been with who wasn't me," he growled.

"Good. I was so mad at you back then, Chuck. I can't believe you fell for Jack's nonsense after the board gave you your first chance at Bass Industries, then went around calling a _prostitute _the most beautiful woman you'd ever laid eyes on. You deserved your punishment... I'm glad I got to torture you."

"Torture me?" His deep voice rumbled against his wife's ear, and he savored her shivers. "You've been doing that since we were in kindergarten. And as for having the time of your life, Carter Fucking Baizen has _nothing _on Chuck Bass. Now, wouldn't you agree?"

His hands trailed over her body, up and down, as he spoke. Then he cupped her breasts, feeling their weight in his hands, thumbing the pebble-hard nipples. As Blair's head fell back against his shoulder, revealing his favorite spots on her neck, his mouth connected with its prize. She moaned in response, filling the air with her cries.

"Chuck, the staff," she pleaded as he pulled one of the straps of her gown down, baring a breast for his hungry gaze. "We should go up to our room..."

"Why? This is our home." He planted wet, open-mouthed kisses on her neck, then her shoulder as one hand continued to play with her breasts, and the other trailed downward to lift up the hem of her gown. "Besides, you _love _it when others listen in... or _watch_..."

"We're going to be two people's... oh, _God... _parents soon," she gasped, for his fingers had discovered that instead of her usual designer underwear, she was completely bare for him beneath her gown. "N-Nate said..."

"Are you really," growled Chuck, plunging two fingers into her heat, curling upward to find her spot as his thumb got reacquainted with her clit, "bringing up _Nate _right now? Fuck him..."

"No! I want to fuck _you!" _she screamed, staff completely forgotten. (Anyone who worked in the Bass household had long since perfected the art of disappearing late at night and staying in the staff quarters below, because after dark they were likely to see the man of the house and his lady _anywhere._)

"Mm," said Chuck, growing rock-hard beneath her hips as she writhed at every single touch of his hands. "But... in your words, vixen... 'can you say it twice?'"

Another moan escaped her lips, so loud it would have made a hooker blush. (But no hooker ever had such sinfully plump, _sexy _lips, Chuck reflected.) "Aaah, Chuck! I want you to fuck me!"

"Uh-uh, that's not what you said the first time," he teased, dipping down his head to swirl his tongue around her nipple. (He couldn't wait until her milk came in. It wasn't his kink, and with two babies, she'd have her work cut out for her, but he _would _taste her at least once.) "Besides... I _am_ fucking you."

"Nooo," she whined. "Not... enough..."

At her words, Chuck removed his fingers from her aching walls. Blair cried out in frustration, squirming even more.

"Not... your best lap dance, kitten," he rasped, feeling as if his erection would burst out of his pants at any moment. He loved seducing her with his voice, but it was all he could do to stop from coming undone himself. "What do you mean, I'm not enough?"

"_Ohhhhhh... _you're more than... enough..." Deep breath. "But... I want... more..."

One of Chuck's favorite sights was that of Blair, completely at his mercy, in his arms. No one he'd been with before her even came close to what she looked like as she twisted against him, the hemline of her gown meeting the neckline of the garment, covering only her waist. Robe completely discarded and forgotten on the floor...

...along with the buttons of his shirt, which went flying seconds after she turned around on his lap to face him. All the better to shove it open, and run her hands down his chest to the waistband of his slacks.

"I liked that shirt," he smirked, thinking he'd buy the line out just so that his sexy little wife could tear them all from his body.

"I know," she breathed, hovering over him, letting her hair curtain them both. "I bought it for you. Just like... you say... the clothes you buy for me... are _yours..._" Between hot kisses, Blair's fingers curled around his belt buckle. "...and you can demand them off any time, your shirts... are _mine, _Bass._"_

His hands curled around her sides as she opened his pants, reaching for what she wanted most. "And what," he hissed as her pretty little hands encircled his cock, "of _yours _is truly _mine_, Mrs. Bass?"

Blair, in all her haze of desire, was triumphant. She was glowing with the new lives that she cradled within her, new lives that came from both her and Chuck. She managed to smirk with satisfaction as she sank down just as her lover rose his hips to meet her, sliding home.

"Everything," she breathed.

Once he was secured within her, she went completely still. So did he. Their gazes locked. It was a moment so tender, so intimate, that he could tell that it took her breath away.

Once she gained her bearings, she leaned down and murmured against his lips, "Love me, Chuck. _Love me._"

Love her? Looking up at his beautiful wife, the breath leaving his chest, Chuck savored the initial sensation of being deep inside her as much as he did their first time together. He'd adored Blair his entire life, maybe in all the timelessness before he drew his first breath, maybe as long as there had been a universe. They were made and meant for each other.

He'd known that he would only ever love Blair when he was just sixteen years old. That night at Victrola, then in the limo afterward, remained the single most terrifying _and _incredible experience of his life. Now that they were all grown up, their love for each other had grown into something endlessly, heartstoppingly beautiful, and now, life giving. She was right, she really _was_ his everything. In the face of that, he could no longer be afraid of anything, not even losing her the same way they'd lost his mother. The twins wouldn't be their last children, but the eldest of the most unstoppable family that New York City had ever seen. They, and their amazing mother, would break the curse of the Basses once and for all.

And if he felt this way at twenty-two, if six years had shown him the depth of his love for her... how would he feel when they were thirty-two or forty-two? Eighty-two or ninety-two? When they took their last breaths in this life, and opened their eyes in the next?

Whether they were destined for Heaven, Hell, or Paradise, or somewhere in between, Chuck knew there was only one answer to his wife's plea. He began to move, savoring her sweet voice...

_Love me?_

"Always, baby," he whispered into her ear. "Always and forever."

**~The End~**

A/N: Wow. It's been a fantastic ride.

_Pomp and Circumstance _may be over, but I've enjoyed writing this story so much. I have promised myself and others that I won't write another novel-length tale. If people are interested in more short stories from this AU, please review and let me know what you thought of my take on the Gossip Girl characters and universe, and where you'd like me to go next.

I do have two one-shots planned, one from Chair's clambake in the Hamptons 3 weeks after P&C8, and another one set at the beautiful home in France that Chuck bought for Blair's graduation present... 15 years in the future. I thought I'd do the future one-shot first, simply because that way, all of the questions P&C left you with will be answered. I know all of the endgames, pairings, children, and eventual fates of the characters in this 'verse. After that, I'd go back and tell the stories in-between. (After writing this story, and reading lots of Maryl, Kaela097, Ellibells, and especially DaeDreemer's "Imaginary Friends," I'm inspired!)

There are so many people to thank; I'll begin with my betas, DrGG and K, who guided me through chapters 1 through 7, giving so much of their time to help me shape the story I wanted to tell. Although I decided to go "barefoot" this chapter, I appreciate them. Any mistakes are mine alone.

My Chairy godmother, the incredible Maryl, is not only an incredible writer, but has grown into an amazing fandom friend. Thank you, Maryl, for encouraging me to finish this story. I don't think I could've done it without you. Special thanks also to Elizabeth, Danielle, Shawn Marie, Megan, Sabi, Jackie, Mary Scarlett, and a whole host of Twitter friends who kept asking me about updates. It is because of you that I was motivated to complete this before the s6 premiere. (Happy birthday, Megan! This one's for you! )

I'd also like to thank the wonderful Josh Schwartz and Stephanie Savage, who did the impossible, and actually got _me, _the ultimate good girl/good boy shipper to become a rabid fan of the ultimate bad girl/bad boy ship! (Also love Josh and Steph because ahem... they ship Derena.) As we approach the last 10 episodes of the show, I am also so appreciative of the cast. They _sold _what could have been just another teen soap opera, capturing the interest and the imaginations of not only people in their teens and early twenties, but also those of us who are slightly more mature than that.

Chapter 7 reviewers at the time that I post this, you get the season 6 Canadian preview! "Do. That. Again!" to: **ADDED, Curious Blonde, notoutforawalk, Guest, CameronM201, SaNaa.91, anonym, SnowedUnderNJ, ChrysX, msboskiera, Dede, Nana Altro, BiteMeBass, TriGemini, SailorPikaAngel, iheartnywriter, pty, maryl, Trosev, Elise, madetobemrsbass, justamodernrock, livelovelaugh9704, QueenMab, wrighthangal, cj, amymitchellxoxo, Guest, aliciasays, CBfanhere **and **24hourscout. **(BTW, congrats to bonafide11/Carlybb for over 100,000 hits on her vid! That was an AMAZING weekend to be a Chair fan!)

I still can't believe that so many of you have followed me on this wacky journey. Thank you for sharing these pages with me.

As I take my final bow for this story and the curtain closes two weeks before the last time _Gossip Girl _ever premieres (sniff!), I'd like to remind you, dear reader, of one thing: _you know you love me!_

**XOXO, Dr. Holland**


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